Last month, singer-songwriter Aimee Mann asked to hear your versions of her song "Freeway" for the chance to perform with her on her U.S. tour later this summer. (Ten runners-up will get an autographed copy of her new CD, @#%&*! Smilers.)



Since then, amazing entries have come in from assorted robots, aliens, and talented Aimee fans –- some of you even hit the highway to record your own version of the song. Well, the deadline to enter is Monday, July 7 (aka NOW!), so get out your instrument of choice and take a crack at it. (Don't forget you can download the sheet music, lyrics and instrumental version of the song from Aimee's website here. ) Here's Aimee singing the official version of the song to show you just one way it could be done:



Good luck!
Michele K-Tel
YouTube Music

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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 personalize 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 personalized 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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It's been two weeks since the launch of The YouTube Screening Room, and that can only mean one thing: a fresh batch of short films for your viewing pleasure.

For those of you who missed the initial announcement, The YouTube Screening Room is our new platform to help top films from around the world find the audiences they deserve. So far, hundreds of thousands of YouTubers have checked out the films, and thousands more have left comments.



We hope you'll enjoy the second round of films as much as you enjoyed the first. "The Clap," from the UK, tells the comic story of a music aficionado who finds a unique way to celebrate his favorite performer. "The Big Empty," from the US, stars Selma Blair as a young woman searching for a cure to her inner ache. "I Met the Walrus," from Canada, is the beautiful animated tale of a 14-year-old Beatle fan's real-life encounter with John Lennon. Finally, "School of Life," from the UK, follows a schoolboy as he learns life's most important lesson.



Stay tuned for our third round of films, debuting in two weeks on July 18.

Finally, for those of you interested in being featured in the YouTube Screening Room, email ytscreeningroom@youtube.com.

Happy viewing,

YouTube Film

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Our friends over at Google Mobile have started a new YouTube channel called Mobile Tricks. They want to know what you can do with your cell phone, and start you off with a guy who's a bit obsessed with them. Look familiar? You might have seen him before in a unitard.



They're asking for all kinds of tricks, from the useful to the completely ridiculous, and they can be with or without Google Mobile products. To submit a video, start and end it with these slides, and submit it to their channel page. They're putting the best submissions in their playlists and blogging about their favorites, and we put one of our favorites on the YouTube home page over the weekend – holotext messaging.

For further inspiration, here's a video about how to save America with your phone (thanks to davestonedesign) and the WillItBlend guys doing what they do best.





Now show us what you’ve got!

The YouTube Team

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Here on YouTube, there's no shortage of odes to 20th century cartoonist Rube Goldberg. If you're not familiar, Goldberg penned a comic series starring the eccentric Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts -- who created elaborate contraptions to perform simple tasks in roundabout ways.

Well, the Goldberg followers on YouTube have that concept down to a T -- and, better yet, they offer complete explanations of how they built their devices and what to expect once things get set in motion. This week's Trendspotting Tuesday showcases those budding inventors whose complicated "machines" do everything from putting dog food in a bowl to pouring a glass of beer to constructing a hamburger. There's also the Rube classics, like the Star Wars edition from RebrnEmpwrd and an office supply version from morebeefplease. Check out the full playlist here and on our home page:



Come back next Tuesday for another edition of Trendspotting Tuesday, where we highlight the amazing things people are doing on the site.

Cheers,
The YouTube Team

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The time has arrived for our next Guru Challenge, the ongoing programming initiative in which we ask a prominent or up-and-coming expert in their field to challenge you, the YouTube community, to use your creativity to new ends.

This month, it's all about using your talents in an eco-conscious way. Michelle Kaufmann, a YouTube architect with a passion for green design, wants to see what you can create with items you would normally throw away:



So come on, gurus and non-gurus alike! Show Michelle (and us) your innovative ideas and we'll feature some of the best ones in our HowTo & Style section and possibly also on the home page. Put your creative self out there and you just might inspire the YouTube community to do the same.

Our last Guru Challenge featured the ZooYork crew asking about your viral marketing ideas – in light of their own stickers-on-cockroaches-campaign - and you responded with videos that showed you finding interesting places to place your art, fun ways you incorporated your friends and family in your videos, and poking a little fun at the concept itself.



Long live DIY,
Sadia H.
YouTube HowTo & Style

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We're excited to once again announce the expansion of the YouTube Partner Program. By joining the program, popular users in France and Germany -- like new partners AericWinter and FabTheGap -- will now be able to generate revenue from ads that run next to their videos, and receive the same promotional benefits afforded to YouTube's other professional content partners.

Now in eight countries, the Partner Program showcases the global diversity of the YouTube community, reflecting our commitment to helping users around the world find an outlet for their creativity and pursue opportunities online no matter where they live.

So, if you've built a significant audience on YouTube -- whether running a cooking series in Bordeaux or talking football in Hamburg -- we encourage you to apply now.

The YouTube Team

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What do you get when you mix a ditty about testicular cancer with a group of citizens foraging for fruit on the streets of Los Angeles? A pretty sweet trend on YouTube. You're probably well acquainted with the average activist -- the demonstrator, the lobbyist, the boycotter, the PSA-junkie...In this week's Trendspotting Tuesday, we're pleased to introduce you to a whole different kind of activist animal -- the unconventional activist -- whose creativity knows no limits when it comes to raising awareness about their pet issue.



You may have already encountered a few unconventional activists on YouTube, like the Swiss contingent who froze their butts off (literally) while taking an environmental stand or this fella whose penchant for recycling outweighs his need for mobility:



In today's feature, you'll witness a colorful display of outrage as an Italian man sends thousands of plastic balls down the Spanish Steps to protest lack of garbage collection and discover a man who chose to live like a chicken to show how cruel humans can be. And you might just learn how to do the "Gas Can Shuffle," the latest dance craze that's sweeping the nation in an attempt to make gas more affordable:



If this brief paddle in the civic participation pool isn't enough for you, keep checking the Nonprofits & Activism category for more examples of inspiring social change, of both the wacky and traditional variety.

Cheers,
The YouTube Team

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The new features included in our most recent site update are geared toward a more personalized experience for you. Check out the details...

NEW PERSONALIZED HOMEPAGE

Our goal is to give a simple answer to the question, "What should I watch today?" with a personalized, customizable homepage that makes it easy to find the videos and people that you care about. After reviewing results from our beta test and feedback from the community, we're happy to now release the new personalized homepage to all logged-in users. Since launching the beta version in February, data has shown an increase in the number of users visiting the homepage, the frequency of visits, and the number of subscriptions users make over time. So, this optimized version of the homepage not only means a customizable experience for you, but more exposure for your cool videos and channels on YouTube (Note: if you are logged out or do not have an account you won't be able see the personalized homepage).

IMPROVED EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

The email messages you receive from YouTube have been updated with a new layout. In addition to a streamlined design and many wording changes, any comments or messages are now included directly within the body of the email, saving you time.

We're eager to hear your feedback, so please let us know what you think of this latest round of improvements.

The YouTube Team

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YouTube is in the middle of a creature invasion, courtesy of our creative community of video gamers and "Spore", the much-anticipated new game from Will Wright , the creator of The Sims. Countless new species of lovable aliens have popped up all over the site, and you don't have to be an expert gamer to get in on the action. You can download the Spore Creature Creator for free, create your own alien, make in-game movies and upload them to your YouTube account directly from the Creature Creator. Then you're ready to share your unique vision with your friends and fellow "Spore" enthusiasts. Once you've got the hang of things, you can even enter the Ultimate Spore Creature Creator Dance Off for the chance to have your creature's dance moves voted on by the community as well as a trip to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.

Whether you're an outspoken vlogger or a camera-shy YouTube user who prefers to leave comments, uploading your own unique life-form is an exciting new way to express your creative vision and get more out of your YouTube experience. Since EA launched the Creature Creator on June 17, we've seen literally thousands of eye-popping uploaded life-forms, including oddball creations from Tay Zonday and the legendary Stan Lee, a man who knows a thing or two about dreaming up new characters. And as you check out this video player packed with "Spore" goodness, don't forget that your own contribution to the great "Spore" invasion is only a download -- and upload -- away.



Happy creating,
Felicia W.
YouTube Entertainment

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