Ratings Changes

YouTube will do doing away with the five-star rating system, moving instead to an "up" or "down" rating.

Changes coming...

YouTube just announced that they'll be updating the look/functionality of their site and video pages over the next few months. Keep your eyes peeled to see what they come up with!

Teach Yourself YouTube in 10 Minutes

Just released, my latest YouTube book -- Sams' Teach Yourself YouTube in 10 Minutes. Look for it at a bookstore near you!

1080p HD Videos

YouTube now lets you upload videos in full 1080p high definition resolution. Wowzers!

Outside Links via Promoted Videos

YouTube now lets you link from your videos to an outside (non-YouTube) website -- if that video is part of a promoted videos campaign. You still can't link non-promoted videos outside of YouTube, but if you're advertising your videos, this is a good deal

Widescreen and High Definition Videos

Hot on the heels of YouTube's upgrade to High Quality videos, the site now lets users upgrade and viewers watch widescreen videos, as well as high definition videos. The default video player is now widescreen, and any widescreen videos you upload will display at the wider aspect ratio. You can also upload videos up to 720p resolution -- that's 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall. When the high definition option is available, viewers need only click the HD option to view in full high resolution.

Video Annotations

Here's something relatively new on the YouTube site. You can now "annotate" your videos, by adding Pop Up Video-like word balloons and text boxes, as well as onscreen overlays that link to other YouTube videos. To add annotations, upload your video as normal and then go to your uploaded videos page; click the Edit Annotations button for the video in question and then do your thing!