Wiadomosci sportowe i ze swiata muzyki

Based on some of your comments and emails saying that the entry period for the People.com/YouTube Be a Red Carpet Reporter contest was too short, we have decided to extend the deadline for submissions by an additional 48 hours – which means that July 23 will be the last, last day to interview your way to TV’s biggest red carpet event.

The premise is simple: send us your best two- to four-minute video showing off your interview skills with a family member or friend, using your front walk as a red carpet. Submissions are due by midnight EST on the 23rd, after which a team of PEOPLE.com editors and red carpet correspondents will narrow the field to 10 finalists. Then it’s up to PEOPLE.com and the YouTube community to select the best red carpet reporter to be flown to the L.A. event. (Read the full rules to ensure that your video qualifies for this contest.)

Good luck, and hope to see you on the red carpet!

The YouTube Team

YouTube teems with videos representing a multitude of viewpoints, especially when it comes to users who are passionately engaged with religion or spirituality. This week’s Trendspotting Tuesday showcases those folks who use the site as their pulpit, demonstrating that you don’t have to go to India to have a guru (for example) and that you can preach to your “congregation” right from your comfy living room armchair. Naturally, this playlist could have been as long and as plentiful as all the viewpoints out there, so consider it just a randomly ordered taster of how some spiritual people are using the site:

Peace,
The YouTube Team

For years, the potato has been an integral part of the global food system, serving as the world’s number one non-grain food commodity. Now, as food shortages around the world become more prevalent, and the price of other staple foods like wheat, maize, and rice skyrocket, the humble spud is becoming an even more important player in the international fight against hunger. That’s why the United Nations has decided to give the potato its rightful due, by naming 2008 the International Year of the Potato:

The aim of the International Year of the Potato is two-fold: to raise awareness about the crucial role of the potato in agriculture and economic security around the world, especially in developing nations, and to promote sustainable potato-based systems which would provide nutritious food for present and future generations. Other organizations besides the UN are also using YouTube to pitch in and meet these objectives. For example, the Idaho Potato Commission recently launched “ITuber Take,” a contest which invited potato aficionados to create and submit YouTube videos about potatoes:

In celebration, other YouTube users are offering practical advice, like expertvillage, who is educating others on how to plant, grow, and harvest potatoes, and chefs Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough, authors of the Ultimate Potato book, who demonstrate an easy recipe for Indian potato curry.

In, ahem, starch contrast, if you’re in the mood for a little music, you can enjoy Potato 2008 by reveling in the melodic stylings of this potato choir, which received RocketBoom recognition, or watch the classic “My Name is Potato” video performed by Italian songstress Rita Pavone. And if you like your baked potato with sour cream, chives, and a dash of the ridiculous, you may want to explore this “Conan O’Brien”-led potato dance posse, which puts Michael Flatley to shame.

For more on how YouTube users are taking this opportunity to celebrate their carb-laden pal, take a look at the full playlist of “YouTuberlicious” videos:

Spudtacularly yours,
Ramya R.
YouTube Nonprofits & Activism

Cell phones created a big buzz in tech lately, and YouTube’s tech vloggers have been working overtime to unbox, critique and compare the latest models.

For eager Apple fans, every step of the iPhone 3G’s arrival has been documented, from the lines outside the Apple store to the unboxing of just-purchased phones. There are videos comparing the original iPhone and the 3G successor, videos reviewing the latest downloadable apps from the AppStore, and for those suffering from iPhone fatigue, Tom from Blendtec gives an iPhone the “Will It Blend?” treatment. Check out a few of our 3G favorites in this video playlist.

Of course, you don’t have to be an Apple obsessive to get into the technology trenches with YouTube’s gadget gurus. While john4lakers is delivering his take on 24 hours with his new iPhone, PhoneDog Noah is putting some other slick handsets to the test with a head-to-head dogfight between the LG Dare and Samsung Instinct. Meanwhile, SlashGear is unboxing the Treo 800w, TigerDirectBlog is getting hands-on with the HTC Touch Dual and absolon3 is giving his first impression of the Nokia E17.

By the time the iPhone residue has been cleaned off of the blender blades, there are sure to be dozens more videos posted on the various handsets, smart phones, touch screens and other gadgets that make up the “most wanted” lists of our tech experts. And there will doubtlessly be no shortage of opinions on offer, from “get it now!” fanboys to “wait and see!” skeptics. Who knew that cell phones would give us so much to talk about?

Cheers,
The YouTube Team

It’s time for another Guru Challenge and this month Princess Diana161 wants to see what’s cooking (specifically summer recipes):

We all know there are some talented chefs on YouTube and we want to see them make everything from grilled hamburgers to tasty desserts. (The best ones just might make our home page.) Just upload your video as a response to Princess Diana’s humorous call to action.

New to the Guru Challenges? They’re for users making HowTo videos — or for those who need a reason to start. Our first challenge with Zoo York was a call out to see your creative ways for spreading the word, and it generated some fun responses:

Our next challenge was a green-themed one, with architect Michelle Kaufmann asking to see how you would reuse and recycle an item you would normally throw away. Here’s a peek at some of the best entries that have come in so far:

Now get cookin!,
Sadia H.
YouTube HowTo & Style

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 Center 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 Center. 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 centralized 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

Leave it to the pioneering British band Radiohead to make a video without a camera or lights. Witness the data+laser magic of “House of Cards” on our home page today or right here:

So how did they do it? With the help of 3D image capturing created by two technology companies: Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR. Their scanning systems produce structured light to capture up-close 3D images, while another system uses multiple lasers to capture large, landscape-type environments. In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes. Here’s a video that may give you a better idea of all the machinery involved:

You can also find this data-centric bit of creativity on Google’s code website, which contains additional pieces of data available for incorporation into your own visualizations. Upload such videos to Radiohead’s YouTube group if you’d like to share them with the band and the YouTube community. Thanks to a Creative Commons license, all the data used to produce this music video is being made available to share with you.

Now, join in — go forth and manipulate data!

Geeking out,
Michele K-Tel
YouTube Music

We’ve received a lot of vibrant feedback about our Trendspotting Tuesday features, and the idea for this week’s takeover comes from SammieTV, who noted that there’s no shortage of users teaching others their native tongues or wanting to practice their language skills.

In fact, whittling down the list to just 12 videos was not an easy task, as it seems like there’s someone on YouTube teaching just about every language ever known to human kind. We’ve got Greek, Swahili, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Thai, German and more covered on our playlist, while LeylaRandomness teaches French to English and Japanese speakers and latinguy2009 expertly ushers a dead language into the 21st century. Check out the full playlist:

So as you prepare to do a little summer travel these next few months (if it is indeed summer where you live), don’t forget to seek out some language assistance from YouTube’s global community of multilingual gurus. They’ve got a lot to share with you.

Ciao/Au revoir/Auf Wiedersehen,

The YouTube Team

As we let you know on July 4, YouTube received a court order to produce viewing history data. We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users’ viewing histories and we will not be providing that information. (Read the official legalese here.)

In addition, Viacom and the plaintiffs had originally demanded access to users’ private videos, our search technology, and our video identification technology. Our lawyers strongly opposed each of those demands and the court sided with us.

We’ll keep you informed of any important developments in this lawsuit. We remain committed to protecting your privacy and we’ll continue to fight for your right to share and broadcast your work on YouTube.

Sincerely,
The YouTube Team

The latest installment 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!
Good luck!
The YouTube Team