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YouTube is Google's massive video streaming platform, accepting videos from creators large and small

YouTube is a major video platform owned by Google — and it has grown to be one of the most famous social media destinations on the web.

Facebook slams Google Chrome, replaces recommendation with Opera

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And war has begun: Facebook slammed Google’s Chrome browser today with the above unsupported web browser message [cache], which recommended Opera, among others, as a better alternative for viewing the social network.

FavBrowser first discovered the change and noted Facebook’s rumored plans to acquire Opera. This is noteworthy, because Google+ is Facebook’s direct competitor. The infant Google service is tackling Facebook head-on with its executives consistently criticizing Facebook, like when CEO Larry Page accused Facebook of holding users hostage last week. Only now it appears the back-talking has turned into actions, because Facebook no longer recommends Chrome to its nearly 1 billion active users.

According to StatCounter, Chrome passed Internet Explorer during the week of May 14 to May 20 to become the most popular browser in the world. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still has a commanding lead in the United States, but growth for Chrome is steadily increasing in regions like South America, India, and Europe. The browser also surpassed Internet Explorer, although for just a day, in March. These statistics indicate that Chrome is too large for Facebook to ignore.

Meanwhile, Google’s CEO Larry Page said in a statement to investors in April that the company’s own social network Google+ now has more than 100 million active users, which is up from 90 million total users in January. To him, the network is an integral product that will help Google bring the next generation of search to life. Despite these bold goals, Facebook still reins king in the social network market with its nearly 10 times larger userbase.


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Google applies for .google, .youtube, & other generic top-level domains

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As noted by Google’s chief Internet evangelist Vint Cerf on the Official Google blog, Google has recently applied for .google, .youtube, and .lol, and other generic top-level domains. ICANN plans o publish a list of applied-for domains on June 13. Today is the deadline for submitting applications.

In 2008, ICANN announced a program to expand the number of generic TLDs (think .com, .org, .edu), developed through its bottom-up, multi-stakeholder process, in which we participate. Given this expansion process, we decided to submit applications for new TLDs, which generally fall into four categories

Cerf continued by giving examples of the domains Google is requesting:

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Google and Facebook considering investment in Vevo as YouTube deal comes to an end

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According to a report from The New York Post, Google’s CEO Larry Page is considering extending the company’s relationship with label-backed music-video service Vevo by possibly buying an equity stake in the venture. The report claimed that Facebook is also considering making an investment in Vevo, which is reportedly currently valued at $1 billion and run by major labels including Universal Music Group and Sony Music.

Both Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg are exploring an investment in Vevo as part of a broader partnership with the music-video service, The Post has learned.

Vevo already has a deal with Google to host its content on YouTube, but the report noted that agreement lasts only through the remainder of 2012. Vevo is reportedly negotiating with YouTube to accept lower than the two-thirds of ad-revenue it currently receives from the Vevo content that it hosts. As The Post pointed out, recent stats from comScore listed Vevo as YouTube’s top partner channel in April with 48 million unique viewers during the month.

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Google VP David Lawee discusses Motorola, says two-thirds of acquisitions are successful

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 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBduf8o0AbI]

Google’s Vice President of Corporate Development David Lawee sat down with MG Siegler today at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York City to discuss the search engine’s history with acquisitions including yesterday’s buyout of Motorola Mobility. 

The entire interview is above (part 2 is below-soon), but the main point of discussion concerns the nugget that Google acquires 20 to 30 companies a year, with an additional 20 or more related to patents, but Lawee said two-thirds of all Google’s acquisitions have been successful. Lawee attributes the success rate to Google’s initiative to only recruit endeavors that will benefit from being a part of Google, rather than to continue existing on their own.

The VP further said each acquisition has its own metrics to determine whether it is successful, while he then mentioned DoubleClick and AdMob as two of Google’s most successful acquisitions. Slide, on the other hand, is one of Google’s failures.

“Sometimes executing on strategy leads other things to fail. […] 85 percent of that team ended up working for YouTube and they’ve done quite well there,” Lawee explained.


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Google goes hardware: ‘We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility’

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Google’s CEO Larry Page made headlines again this morning: He just officially announced Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, while confirming the joined companies will soon create the next generation of mobile devices.

The chief executive took to the official Google Blog to reveal the news:

It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google.

Page appointed Googler Dennis Woodside as CEO of the newly acquired business, and claimed he has known the exec for over a decade, while adding, “He’s been phenomenal at building teams and delivering on some of Google’s biggest bets.”

The post is quick and to-the-point. The most important aspect to it, however, is the last line: “[…] I’m confident Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.”

That’s right. Google is now a hardware company.

Google made headway on the $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition late last week when China finally gave the merger a go-ahead. Motorola promptly filed an 8-K form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday that specified the deal’s transaction would likely close today.

Check out the full announcement below—or jump over to Google’s blog. 


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Study: Adults choose Web over TV, YouTube ads more efficient than cable ads

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rD_WcGtA3C4]

Google collaborated with advertising research company Nielsen to conduct a series of new cross-media studies for television, and they discovered over one-third of adults opted for broadband Internet over cable TV.

The search engine’s six cross-media studies looked at viewership patterns and campaign effectiveness across television, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. The results indicated 31 percent of 18-to-49-year-old adults are “light TV viewers” who are “more efficiently reached with cross media campaigns on YouTube and the GDN than with TV alone.”

Google’s Advertising Research Manager Sheethal Shobowale took to the official Adwords Blog to further elaborate:

“At the end of 2011, several signs seemed to indicate that younger viewers were watching less TV and spending more time online. In fact, broadcast only/broadband homes have increased 22.8 percent since Q3 2011. We conducted a series of new cross-media studies for TV and six YouTube/GDN campaigns to find out if this trend would continue, and how it might impact advertisers in 2012. […]  Overall, the results suggest that adding YouTube and the GDN to your TV network campaigns improves effectiveness in several powerful ways…”

Check out Google’s infographic below and video above to learn more. 


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YouTube announces Next Vlogger winners

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YouTube’s Next Vlogger is a development program that provides mentoring and promotion to vloggers (a.k.a. video bloggers) to bulk the video-sharing platform’s quality content offering, and the contest just announced its 16 winners. According to the official YouTube Creator Blog:

Not only is vlogging one of the most popular forms of expression on YouTube, but selecting Next Vlogger also resulted in more applications than we’ve received for any previous Next Creator program. Bravo! Although, that still left us with some tough decisions…  After much debate and many sleepless nights, we’re excited to introduce you to the 16 Next Vloggers.

In total, the winning vloggers already have more than 125 million views. Now, they will participate in three months of trainings through Google+ Hangouts, including advice from YouTube content creators iJustine and Natalie Tran from communitychannel. They will also receive $5,000 of video equipment and $10,000 of promotion. For those that did not win, YouTube is offering Creator Workshops available on the YouTube Creator Events website. Attendance is done through Google+ Hangouts on Air from the YouTube Creators page.

Videos from each of the winners are available below (and above).


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Report: Google investing in YouTube content creator Machinima

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Following recently signing MGM and Paramount Pictures to add over 1,000 new movies for rent, Google is once again investing in content for YouTube. Today AllThingsD reported the company is about to invest in Machinima, a network featuring videos about videogames that is pulling in about a billion views monthly.

People familiar with the round tell me it should end up raising more than $30 million, and will value the company at around $190 million, post-funding. No comment from Google or Machinima.

The report explained, unlike its past deals with content creators where it recoups over $100 million in investments through ad sales, the Machinima deal would be the first time Google takes an equity stake in a YouTube content provider:

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Hangouts On Air is now available to all, allows recorded or live broadcasting

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Google launched Hangouts On Air last year to select broadcasters, which allows recorded or live conversations with friends to broadcast, but today the search engine made the popular feature available to Google+ users worldwide.

Engineering Director Chee Chew explained the option’s functions on the Official Google Blog:

Today we’re excited to launch Hangouts On Air to Google+ users worldwide. So if you have something to say—as an aspiring artist, a global celebrity, or a concerned citizen—you can now go live in front of a global audience. With just a few clicks, you’ll be able to:

  • Broadcast publicly. By checking “Enable Hangouts On Air,” you can broadcast your live hangout—from the Google+ stream, your YouTube channel or your website—to the entire world.
  • See how many viewers you’ve got. During your broadcast, you can look inside the hangout to see how many people are watching live.
  • Record and re-share. Once you’re off the air, we’ll upload a public recording to your YouTube channel, and to your original Google+ post. This way it’s easy to share and discuss your broadcast after it’s over.


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Jazz Fest is streaming live from New Orleans this weekend on YouTube

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YouTube, in conjunction with Dell, is streaming music from the Jazz Fest in New Orleans all weekend.

 The broadcast will combine live music from across the next three days with pre-recorded highlights from last weekend.

It may be Jazz Fest by name, but it’s not entirely jazz by nature. The diverse lineup this weekend includes Bon Iver, Tom Petty, Trombone Shorty, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, My Morning Jacket and many more. We’re adding artists all the time, so check-out the official Jazz Fest channel for the latest schedule.

The stream begins at 12pm PT today and runs through 6pm this Sunday. Enjoy!

Head there now.
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Galaxy S III TV commercial (Video)

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/2lpLGb1WW8E]

Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy S III in London and has already posted its first television advertisement for the smartphone on YouTube. A few official images for the device were also included on Facebook—check them out:


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Samsung Galaxy S III specs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D683O1YeozY

Samsung GALAXY S III Product Specifications 

Network

2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz3G (HSPA+ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz4G (Dependent on market)

Display

4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED (1280×720) display

OS

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Camera

Main(Rear): 8 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BSISub (Front): 1.9 Mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BSI

Video

Codec: MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson SparkRecording & Playback: Full HD (1080p)

Audio

Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X

Additional

Features

S Beam, Buddy photo share, Share shot
AllShare Play, AllShare Cast
Smart stay, Social tag, Group tag, Face zoom, Face slide show
Direct call, Smart alert, Tap to top, Camera quick access
Pop up play
S Voice
Burst shot & Best photo, Recording snapshot, HDR

Google Mobile Services

Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google LatitudeGoogle Play Store, Google Play Books, Google Play MoviesGoogle Plus, YouTube, Google Talk,Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads

Connectivity

WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi HT40GPS/GLONASSNFCBluetooth® 4.0(LE)

Sensor

Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer

Memory

16/ 32GB User memory (64GB available soon) + microSD slot (up to 64GB)

Dimension

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133g

Battery

2,100 mAh

* Specifications above may differ on the LTE version.

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

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Wave Goodbye

All the way back in 2010, Google announced that Google Wave was on its last leg, and then last November it said the web-based computing platform and communications protocol would become read-only, but today the service has been officially killed.

Well, users still have the rest of the day to export any important data. After tonight, however, all users must wave goodbye.

The Official Google Wave Blog provided more details on this termination at the Help Center. Further information is also available at Google Support.


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Verizon’s ‘Droid Does’ campaign is back (Video)

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Verizon’s “Droid Does” campaign is back, but now the carrier has ditched the tentacle robot arm and synthesized automaton voice for a wholesome commercial that features a soothing voiceover with cute and giggly kids in the introduction, which is soon followed by panning scenes of hard-working and cheeky folks, who find Droid devices ever-so useful in their pleasant, daily lives.

The original “Droid Does” campaign launched Motorola’s first Droid and helped move Android into America’s mainstream vernacular in 2009. Check out the latest advertisement above for the Droid 4, Droid Razr, and Droid Razr Maxx, and then compare it to the old plugs hosted on this YouTube playlist (videos also below).


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Google Chrome’s Matt Frost will give keynote at Streaming Media East 2012

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StreamingMedia.com just announced that Google Chrome’s Senior Business Product Manager Matt Frost would give a keynote speech during the 15th annual Streaming Media East conference in New York, which is occurring between May 15 and May 16 at the Hilton. Frost’s presentation will discuss device, operating system, and browser deviation and how it impacts the video-sphere, as well as what producers can do to establish a uniform user-experience. The press release elaborated:

Frost’s keynote will also cover Google’s direction for online media technology and he will address audience questions in a Q&A session after the keynote.

The annual event is also offering presentations by over 100 industry executives including: Google TV, YouTube, Samsung, Roku, EPIX, Boxee, EVO, TiVo, HBO, MTV Networks, Starz Media, AOL Video, CBS Interactive, Hearst Interactive Media, and more.

(Press release)

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Google Play movies now available in Australia

Google has consistently beefed up its licensing agreements with content providers. It added over 1000 titles from Paramount Pictures and MGM to both YouTube and Google Play rental services earlier this month. Today, it announced on Google+ that movies are now available to Australian Google Play users:

Movies on Google Play is now available in Australia, including Australian classics like Bra Boys (http://goo.gl/nWvPX) and Chopper(http://goo.gl/MjAGT), and recent break-out hits like Snowtown(http://goo.gl/hgtwN).

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German court orders YouTube to filter uploaded content

YouTube must implement filters to stop Germany-based users from uploading videos that contain content held by music-royalty collector GEMA.

GEMA represents over 60,000 German artists. The organization sued Google’s video-sharing platform over 12 temporarily uploaded music videos that failed to pay a licensing fee for their content, but YouTube claimed it holds no legal responsibility. Hamburg’s state court found YouTube not in violation of copyrights on Friday, but said the service bears responsibility for the uploaded content.

The Washington Post explained:

YouTube currently offers copyright holders software that allows them to identify recordings for which they hold copyright, enabling them to flag the content as infringing their rights. The Hamburg court ruled that once an alleged violation is flagged YouTube must now apply the software to the recording to prevent further copyright infringements. The court also told YouTube to install a new program that filters uploaded videos for possible copyright infringements according to key words — such as musicians’ names and song titles — to catch versions of a song that only sound somewhat different, such as live recordings.

It is currently unknown if the ruling will be appealed.


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Google launches ‘Gmail Meter’: Monthly insight reports based on email habits

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Google released Gmail Meter today, which is a tool for analyzing your inbox that is similar to the Google Account Activity feature launched last month.

The Google Team announced Gmail Meter on the Official Gmail Blog. Google Apps Script Top Contributor Romain Vialard developed the Google Apps Script-powered feature after looking at his sent mail one day and noticing there were many things he wanted to know about his email habits.

The video above explains the tool, but here is a quick run-down: Gmail Meter sends an email on the first day of every month containing statistics about an Inbox for detailing a user’s emailing habits. Some of the data measured regards volume statistics, daily traffic, traffic patterns, email categories, times before first response, word count, thread lengths, and top senders and recipients.

A screenshot for each data measurement is below.


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YouTube gets even fancier, adds audio editing and mixing options

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YouTube is quickly making its video-sharing platform an all-in-one editing tool with its built-in 3D graphics button and other attractive features, but now Google has taken the service up another notch with its new audio editing and mixing options.

The video above explains it all, but here is a quick run-down:


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Google Play now offers 24/7 support, specialists call you

Google offers a variety of services, but its technical support is—well—lacking.

Until now, that is. The ever-popular search engine just debuted 24/7 technical support for Google Play users only. The most interesting part is that Google will now call you to provide answers. That’s right, no more are the days of automated support lines and endless waiting. Just fill out a form on the website, submit the form, and then wait for the phone to ring.

Unfortunately, Android devs are out of luck. They need to use ‘ole Help Center if questions should arise.

Check it out: Google Support 


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Google hires ex-Old Spice ad creator for its marketing team

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The creative mind behind the head-turning Old Spice advertising campaign just joined the Google Creative Lab.

Wieden + Kennedy’s Iain Tait is leaving his executive creative director gig behind and opting for a role that promotes Android, Google+, Chrome, and other Google-branded services. Aside from the slue of YouTube slapstick Old Spice videos, he is also known for his advertising work at Levi’s, Coke, and Nike.

“I’m going to be an ECD at Google Creative Lab in New York,” announced Tait in a blog post. “I can’t believe that I’m leaving W+K. And I can’t believe that I’m about to join Google Creative Lab. The whole thing is kind of unbelievable.”


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Google Glasses parody video depicts ‘Battlefield 5’ virtual gaming

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Many Google Glasses parody videos are swirling around the Web, but two Israeli-based filmmakers decided to up the ante with a take on “Battlefield 5.”

Nadav Pessach and Uzi Mor created the video above and hosted it on the “There is a Canal” YouTube channel. It features “Battlefield 5” in a much-idealized version of how some gamers expect Project Glass to one-day change the gaming industry. The Battlefield franchise is a series of FPS video games developed by the Swedish company EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts.


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Leaked video reveals Microsoft is combating Google Apps with cloud features in upcoming ‘Office 15’

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A leaked video suggests Microsoft’s world-renowned productivity suite will soon feature cloud-like options in an effort to curb Google Apps’ growing market share with its alternate offering.

The 30-second promo above is hosted on YouTube by Within Windows. It emphasizes “Office 15” as the suite’s newly re-branded name. It also focuses on the accessibility of the next iteration through remote access to documents, which is enabled by a normal sign-in procedure. The cloud options will tracks and store all of a user’s virtual papers in Microsoft’s cloud-based Sky Drive service.

Microsoft Office is dueling many cloud-based productivity suites, such as Google Apps, and it is steadily losing market share. The downward spiral even caused the once-great Word processing giant to embark on a smear campaign against Google, where it lambasted the Mountain View, Calif.-based Company as a shady advertiser with alternative motives.


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Google signs up MGM to add 600 titles to YouTube and Google Play in North America

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Earlier this month, Google announced an agreement with Paramount Pictures to bring over 500 new movies for rent to YouTube and Google Play. Today, Google is once again continuing its promise to beef up Hollywood content with the announcement that Metro Goldwyn Mayer signed an agreement to bring 600 titles for rent to both Google Play and YouTube for users in North America. With MGM, Google has now signed up five of the six major studios with only 20th Century Fox holding out, and the rental service on YouTube continues to roll out internationally in the United Kingdom, Japan, France, and elsewhere.

If there’s one consistent opening image moviegoers around the world know and equate with great cinema, it’s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Roaring Lion (a clip that has over 1 million views on YouTube). For nearly 90 years, MGM has brought some of the best and most memorable films to the silver screen. Today, through a new partnership with MGM, we’ve started adding more than 600 titles for rent to YouTube and Google Play users in the U.S. and Canada. MGM joins five of the six major studios and over ten independent movie studios, currently offering movies for rent on YouTube and Google Play.


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