Best of Youtube 2007

Have you ever heard of Youtube? In Jan. 2008, of the 9.8 billion videos viewed in the US, 3.4 billion were seen on Youtube. It accounted for one out of every three online videos (34.4%).

Some Youtube Stats for Jan. 2008:

• 80 million viewers


• 3.4 billion videos watched


• 109 minutes per person per month
  


• 150,000+ videos uploaded daily

It would take 412.3 years to view all the videos available on Youtube.

80% of all videos posted on Youtube are user generated (amateur) videos.....and Youtube has just announced the 2007 Youtube video awards. There were 12 categories:


Category................................................Winner

Adorable..........................Laughing Baby
Comedy..................................The Mysterious Ticking Noise
Commentary........................Lonelygirl15 is Dead
Creative.................................Human Tetris
Eyewitness...........................Battle at Kruger
Inspirational......................Blind Painter
Instructional......................Rubik's Cube
Music......................................Chocolate Rain
Politics...................................Stop the Clash of Civilizations
Series......................................The Guild - Episode 1
Short Film............................My Name is Lisa
Sports.....................................Balloon Bowl

I personally like the following two videos the best. User generated content is really great!!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY&eurl=http://id842bnj-a.gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://contests.labpixies.com/gadget/ytva/gadget_winners.xml&synd=labpixie]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiRHyzjb5SI&eurl=http://id842bnj-a.gmodules.com/ig/ifr?url=http://contests.labpixies.com/gadget/ytva/gadget_winners.xml&synd=labpixie]

Father of "Youtube Fight" Teen, Jailed

Spencer Thomas, 43, Ossining activist and father of Von Thomas, is in jail on $7,500 bail. He is accused of possessing the drug PCP, also known as angel dust. His son, Von Thomas was one of four teens accused of the gang assault beating of an 18-year-old Ossining High School student which was videotaped and posted on Youtube.

Spencer Thomas was arrested on March 8th at about 2am outside Anthony's Sports Bar in Ossining. He attracted the attention of the police because he was parked "crookedly" taking up two parking spots with his Land Rover SUV. He was in the company of a 20-year-old woman when the police approached him. The police said they found a partially lit cigarette containing PCP, a baggie containing a substance believed to contain PCP, and seven plastic bags in his jacket containing drug residue.

"Mr. Thomas was unable to articulate any answers to simple questions asked by this officer," the police report states. "He displayed glassy bloodshot eyes, impaired motor skills and appeared incoherent and he was unable to comply with simple commands given by this officer."

The woman was released to her mother without being charged. Thomas was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony. He is being held on $7,500 bail at the Westchester County jail in Valhalla pending his next hearing Tuesday in Ossining Village Court.

Thomas, a well-known activist in Ossining, was arrested just hours before he was supposed attend an annual basketball tournament which he co-organized with Martin McDonald, Ossining High School faculty adviser for Project Earthquake, a tutoring and mentoring program for black male high school students. The basketball tournament was to feature Ossining High School graduates against a squad of famed streetball players known as Ball 4 Real. A sign at the door said the event was canceled but did not give a reason. Martin McDonald was not available for comment. Two people who answered the phone at Thomas' home also declined comment.

The annual tournament was organized in memory of three residents who were killed, including a man shot by police in 1998 after he pointed a loaded gun at them during a chase. In 2005, Thomas organized a "Stop Police Brutality Rally," accusing officers of brutalizing him and other village residents. He had been arrested twice that year on drug charges.

4 Ossining Teens Charged in Youtube Fight

Four Ossining school teens were taken into custody by the police on Wednesday, following the posting on Youtube of, what the police are calling, a gang assault on another teen. Arrested are: Dujuan Harris, Damian Gillespie, Von Thomas and Austin Campbell. They were all charged as adults with first-degree gang assault, a felony, which could land them in prison for as much as 7 years. All four have been suspended from school.

The attack occurred in a church parking lot near the Ossining High School. The victim of the assault was identified as Christian Vega. A 16-year-old girl was also punched in the face as she tried to intervene. All of them are students of Ossining High School in New York. The police say the fight was over an unidentified girl.

The video, filled with violence and profanity, was the talk of the High School as many students viewed the footage before it was taken offline. Click here to see the video

In every single class, people were asking, 'Did you hear about this?' " said sophomore Dustin Capek, 15. "It's an eye-opener that this could happen here. I think it's kind of weird that people have the time to record it and put it on YouTube and not call anybody."

The video, lasting 1 minute and 14 seconds, shows the victim being kicked and punched by 4 attackers, three of them 17 and a 16-year-old. The victim is 18. A knife was also involved in the fight but did not cause serious injury. Police didn't learn of the incident until Wednesday, when the victim and other witnesses came forward. After an investigation the four suspects were taken into custody. Two were arrested in the school principal's office; the others turned themselves in at Ossining police headquarters. All but Austin Campbell posted $5,000 bail.

Spencer Thomas, an Ossining activist, and father of one of the teens arrested, Von Thomas, spoke with reporters after he picked up his son:

"My son was defending himself against a kid with a knife," Thomas said today. "I look at the video and see the kid had a knife and was swinging wildly, and that these guys were trying not to get hurt. They were defending themselves."

Police said they were unsure who brought the knife, but one of the attackers slashed the victim in the neck with it, causing a 6-inch cut. In the video, taken by one of the attackers with a cell-phone camera, one boy shouts, "This dude's got a knife," apparently referring to the victim. Von Thomas later takes hold of what appears to be a knife and makes a slashing motion across the victim's neck. Police wouldn't comment on Spencer Thomas' account.

Despite feeling his son's actions were in self-defense, Spencer Thomas said he is upset over his son's behavior.

"Of course I'm upset with my son," he said. "Who wants their son fighting?"

The Royal Channel

Queen Elizabeth II of England announced the creation of "The Royal Channel" on Youtube. In acknowledging the worldwide popularity and acceptance of the video-sharing website, the royal family has once again shown its willingness to embrace new technologies as a means of reaching out to the public.

From her televised coronation in 1953, to her first live broadcast on Christmas Day 1957, to her podcast last year Christmas, the queen has shown a remarkable fondness for using the mass media and keeping up with the changing times. This year's Christmas message is available on the new Youtube Channel.

On the newly launched channel there are clips dating as far back as the silent news footage in 1917 of Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII. Other topics of interest include: The Queen Mother's wedding (1923), Death of King George VI, Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, State Banquets, Garden Parties and much more. It is a real look back in time at the Royal Family. It is also very popular. It is the 2nd most subscribed to channel this month with more than 17,000 subscribers. Almost 1 million visitors have already been to the site.

In her Christmas message this year she started and ended with clips from her 1957 broadcast - 50 years ago. She also wore the same pearl necklace that she had on back then.

The Queen, Christmas 1957:

"That it's possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us. Because of these changes I am not surprised that many people feel lost and unable to decide what to hold on to and what to discard, how to take advantage of the new life without losing the best of the old."

The Queen, Christmas 2007:

"One of the features of growing old is the heightened awareness of change, to remember what happened 50 years ago means that it is possible to appreciate what has changed in the mean time. It also makes you aware of what has remained constant."

No matter what you may think of the British monarchy, Queen Elizabeth is one of the most beloved public figures in the world. She has reigned for 54 years and at 81-years-old, is Britain's longest reigning monarch. Her role today may only be ceremonial but she has lived a life that her subjects, the British people, can be very proud of. With all the troubles and scandals in the world, it almost makes one nostalgic for "The Good Old Days".