Here at YouTube, we're always trying to find new ways to enrich your viewing experience and to help video creators reach a wider audience. As part of this goal, we've added a new captioning feature which allows you to give viewers a deeper understanding of your video. Captions can help people who would not otherwise understand the audio track to follow along, especially those who speak other languages or who are deaf and hard of hearing.

You can add captions to one of your videos by uploading a closed caption file using the "Captions and Subtitles" menu on the editing page. To add several captions to a video, simply upload multiple files. If you want to include foreign subtitles in multiple languages, upload a separate file for each language. There are over 120 languages to choose from and you can add any title you want for each caption. If a video includes captions, you can activate them by clicking the menu button located on the bottom right of the video player. Clicking this button will also allow viewers to choose which captions they want to see.

Some of our partners have already started using captions to offer you a better understanding of their videos (even with the audio turned off):

- BBC Worldwide: captions are provided in five different languages on this clip from Top Gear.
- CNET: tech product reviews from CNET's Crave blog.
- UC Berkeley: footage from the Opencast Project Open House.
- MIT: full lectures on subjects like Physics.
- Gonzodoga: English subtitles on this awesome Japanese animation.

We hope captions will serve to tighten the YouTube community by bringing together international users from different cultures.
We're excited to see what kinds of fun and creative uses for captions you'll be coming up with for your videos!

For more information about how to use captions, visit this page.
The YouTube Team

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Just so you know, the same annotations feature shown on YouTube videos is now visible on our embedded player. We're excited to finally release annotations on embeds, especially since this feature has been requested frequently in your feedback since our initial launch. Annotations bring an interactive element to your videos, and now you can reach an even larger audience when you embed your annotated videos on other sites. You can give your viewers more background and add commentary with speech bubbles, notes and spotlights, and by adding links to any YouTube video, channel, or search results page.

'Hug the world' is a stellar example of the many different ways you can use annotations to optimize your videos:



We've already seen an extraordinary amount of creative uses of this feature and we encourage video creators across all YouTube sites to continue using annotations.

For more information about how to use annotations on YouTube, visit this page.

The YouTube Team

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For the next 16 days, the eyes of the world will be on Beijing and the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Several of our premier news providers will be there, too, on the ground in China creating feature pieces, photo montage videos, human interest stories and cultural tours of the city. If the athletic competition isn't necessarily your thing but you're still curious about what's going on over there, we've created a central hub of Summer Games content from these providers here.

On the Summer Games channel, you'll find the latest news from Associated Press, daily round-ups and a photographer's journal from Getty Images, in-depth feature pieces from Reuters, Euronews, France 24 and The New York Times, and unique, up-close-and-personal views of life in Beijing from Travel Channel, GroundReport and, of course, SexyBeijingTV.

Here's a preview from Getty Images:



When the Olympics end on August 24, check back to our Summer Games channel in early September for video from the Beijing Paralympic Games, where the magnificent Oscar Pistorius will be running in a hotly contested 100-metres and other athletes will be competing for gold on the world stage.

Cheers,
Andrew B.
YouTube Sports

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With over five million views and counting, the films featured in The YouTube Screening Room since its launch a little over a month ago seem to be holding your attention as much as they've held ours. This program, designed to connect those of you looking for original, compelling film content with talented filmmakers seeking out new audiences, continues to grow and we thank you for your many comments, ratings and messages.

Today, we're pleased to announce two new features, based on your feedback, and four new films. First up: we've launched an easier way to leave comments on films. You'll now find that you can directly link to a film's comments from The YouTube Screening Room landing page by clicking on the blue hypertext Comments number. Second: those of you who wanted a reminder to check out new films every two weeks can now subscribe to The YouTube Screening Room and get updates in your Subscriptions box when new films are featured. To subscribe, just click on the button on the top right side of the "Featured Films" box.

On to the new round of films! This diverse selection of shorts tackles wide-ranging subjects, including how mannequins contribute to female body image, the journey of Polish émigrés, avian interstellar conquest, and the interconnectedness of urban life. They include an Academy Award winner, a Palme d'Or winner, and a Tribeca Film Festival Honourable Mention…



And if you missed a previously featured film, no need to fret! Visit The YouTube Screening Room archives, located at the bottom of the page, to catch up.



Don't forget the popcorn,
Sara P.
YouTube Film

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YouTube is dedicated to presenting original content uploaded by people from around the globe. Last year, when we launched local YouTube sites around the world, we were able to more fully appreciate the diversity of talent in our global community.

Not all French speakers live in France. Japanese entertainment extends far beyond Japan. We are thrilled to unveil a truly global experience on youtube.com. We've enhanced the site so you can pick a language and, separately, a local lens for the content. For example, you can view today's Featured Videos for Canada while navigating the site interface in French, UK English, or any of the other 15 offered translations. The language and local content selection links are found in the masthead, right next to the YouTube logo.

And with YouTube localised in 19 geographies and available in 15 languages including Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, there are 300 ways you can customise your international experience, making our site accessible to more people around the world -- even if you're a French Canadian living in Italy and interested in what's popular in Korea. It is a small world after all.

The YouTube Team

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Community Help Forums have just been launched! This new discussion board is the official place to share ideas, feedback, ask and answer questions, and offer general help to your fellow YouTube community members. Here, you can find out the latest on Announcements, Bug Reports & Issues, How-to's and TestTube Feedback.

You can access the Community Help Forums through the Community Tab, our Help Centre or by clicking the Community Help Forums link displayed at the bottom of most pages on the site. In addition to related articles, forum posts are now included within search results in the Help Centre. Although YouTube staff may jump in periodically to post updates on bugs, upcoming features or make general announcements, the purpose of this board is for experts from our community (like you) to have a centralised place to post commonly asked questions and provide answers about site usage. You must be logged into your YouTube and Google account to post a question or reply, but anyone can read messages on the Community Help Forums. You will need to click on "Join this group" upon your first visit to the forums, then you can post as often as you like while still logged in.

Our ultimate goal is to make Community Help Forums the easiest and fastest way to get help on YouTube - but we can't do it without you. We encourage everyone to stay active, post often and help us make this discussion board the main destination for users to seek help from community experts.

The YouTube Team

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Olive Riley, who, at 108, was the "world's oldest blogger," passed away last Saturday at her nursing home near Sydney, Australia. Olive posted many YouTube vlogs retelling tales of her youth and sharing songs that helped to convey her most fundamental belief: "I want to be happy, but I can't be happy 'til I make you happy too."



Back in October 2007, we were fortunate to have Olive be a part of the YouTube Australia launch for which she made this welcome video:



We will miss the woman who once said: "If a woman who left school in 1914 can embrace the Internet in her 106th year, what is there you can't do, friend?" If you knew Olive or have thoughts on her passing, please post a comment below or upload a video memorial to her.

Best,

Damien E.
The YouTube Team

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Optimisations included in the beta version of "My Videos" are now live for all users, along with even more cool features to make managing your videos even easier.

NEW "MY VIDEOS" & SUBSCRIPTION CENTRE

The YouTube video management tools have been improved! Now you can manage all of your videos (uploads, favourites, subscriptions, etc.) in one centralised place. It's easy to quickly add multiple videos to playlists, favourites, and quicklists by clicking the "add to" button. Searching across all of your videos is now possible, as is filtering them via title, time, date added, views and rating. You can also choose to view your videos in a list, grid, or condensed format (displaying up to 20 videos per page). Playlist management and sorting functions are now more streamlined, and include a collapsible menu for editing details.

Don't forget to comment here and let us know what you think of these upgrades.
The YouTube Team

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The latest instalment of YouTube's Living Legends series is a double dose, featuring two of the greatest rappers of all time. These reigning members of hip-hop royalty represent both East and West coast styles and are two very different voices in the genre's past, present and future. So, get ready for Public Enemy guiding force Chuck D. and the one and only Cardozar Calvin Broadus Jr., better known to the world as Snoop Dogg. They're eager for your questions:



You'll be in good company as you quiz Chuck and Snoop: we've already got videos from a veritable posse of hip-hoppers and other notables who took time out to share their thoughts on how these two influenced their lives in music or politics. The Living Legends channel contains moving testimonials from Black Thought of the Roots, Afrika Bambaataa, Boots Riley from the Coup, as well as political activists like Fred Hampton Jr. and congresswoman Maxine Waters from L.A. There are also insider tales from David Aaron, Snoop's engineer, and Darryl Brooks, a concert promoter who booked Public Enemy on their very first tour. Take a peek:



So, at long last, it's time to "Bring the Noise" AND "Drop it like it's Hot" – all in the same spot. Upload your question(s) for Chuck and Snoop here and/or share your own inspirational story about how these two (or hip-hop in general) touched your life by uploading a video response to the testimonial you like most.

Holla!
The YouTube Team

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As you may have seen in the news, YouTube received a court order to produce viewing data from our database, including usernames and IP addresses. In order to protect our community's privacy, we strongly opposed this motion when Viacom and others filed it.

The court felt differently and ordered us to produce the data. Viacom said that they need general viewing information to determine the proportion of views on YouTube of copyright infringing content vs. non-infringing content.

Of course, we have to follow legal process. But since IP addresses and usernames aren't necessary to determine general viewing practices, our lawyers have asked their lawyers to let us remove that information before we hand over the data they're seeking. (You should know, IP addresses identify a computer, not the person using it. It's not possible to determine your identity solely based on your IP address. Rather, an IP address can reveal what geographic area you're connecting from, or which Internet service provider you're using.)

Why do we keep this information in the first place? It helps us personalise the YouTube experience, getting you closer to the videos you most want to watch. We have many features on the site that help users discover and share compelling content, and we're improving the video experience through recommendations, related videos, and personalised directories that help you find meaningful videos.

We'll continue to fight for your right to share and broadcast your work. The court did impose some encouraging limits -- they agreed with us that Viacom should not have access to private videos or our search technology. Also, the information we provide will be designated highly confidential under court order and only Viacom's outside counsel and experts will have access to it.

Legal matters aside, our focus remains on providing you with the best possible YouTube experience and we continue to be committed to protecting your privacy. Every day, millions of creative people from around the world are posting new, original content. You, our community, are creating the YouTube experience now and tomorrow.

Sincerely,
The YouTube Team

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