Social media has made everyone seem connected to everyone else right now. If you are in Facebook and look at a stranger’s profile, for example, oftentimes you will see that you have at least one mutual friend with that person. In social networking sites, people post about everything happening in their lives, including photos, minute details, emotional status, places visited, and relationship status.
The initial purpose of social sites is that of networking, but it has evolved into something …

Google Transparency report reveals youtube videos were requested to be removed by government agencies because they promote violence. (Image: diTii (CC) via Flickr)

Google removed six hundred forty YouTube videos for advocating terrorism during the last 6 months of 2011. The Association of Police Officers requested the removal of the videos. In addition, the Google Transparency Report revealed five YouTube users had their accounts terminated for violating the site’s Community …

The new Youtube design, which is currently available to only a few testing participants, resembles the Google Plus layout. (Image: Engadget / June 14, 2012)

YouTube has changed its design to look like Google’s social networking site Google Plus. For now, only a few people can see this new design; people who participate in tests facilitated by the firm.
One look at the redesign screenshot reveals that YouTube has really adapted the style of Google Plus. For one, it has more white space; …

Google is facing antitrust investigation from the FTC for possibly manipulating search results for the benefit of its products and services. (Image: adria.richards (CC) via Flickr)

The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, is investigating Google for allegations that it may be manipulating its search engine results to prioritize its services, such as Google Plus, Google Maps, and YouTube.
Google’s adversaries are saying that the search company should not clamp down competition this way, but …

YouTube launches new human rights channel. (Image: kuollut sielu (CC) via Flickr)

YouTube recently launched the “human rights” channel. It features videos from activists all over the world, and is accessible here: Human Rights Channel.
YouTube has teamed up with WITNESS and Storyful. WITNESS, co-founded by musician Peter Gabriel, is a nonprofit organization that supports activists documenting human rights activists by giving them digital cameras, while Storyful is a “social …

Ignore YouTube’s Minority Stars At Your Peril, Money-Wise

Online investors are increasingly looking to top personalities in YouTube who belong to non-white minorities as the latest candidates for stardom in terms of investment earnings – if they get discovered in time.
Washington Post this morning said there is a new spotlight on top personalities in YouTube who command millions of viewers, and may be ripe for discovery by major advertisers online.
The Post’s Hayley Tsukayama mentioned …

Movie studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer has signed a deal with Google to bring the studio’s stash of movie classics to both Google Play and YouTube. The deal, announced yesterday, will see more than 600 titles available for rental on Google’s two media websites.
These include popular titles such as Robocop and the Terminator series of movies. Google has been angling to increase the user appeal for its media websites, especially Google Play, formerly known as the Android Market, to offer an …

Tom Pickett, a high level executive for YouTube, said the video sharing website owned by Google will make its website more social, integrating social networking across platforms, and is aiming to more than double its annual ad revenue in India and other emerging markets.
 
Pickett, who is in charge of global content for YouTube, was in India for a tour this week and told Reuters: “YouTube has been lacking great social features. Commenting and sharing have been part of YouTube, but the …

Spotify will offer to embed music to other websites to expand their listeners. (Image: skynetcusco (CC) via Flickr)

Spotify now offers a play button for other websites. This move aims to further increase the number of listeners the website has, following YouTube’s strategy of allowing other websites to easily embed YouTube videos.
The principle works because on the Internet, your services should go where people want to be, and not expect people to go where you are, according to Giles …

NetSpective aids Youtube for Schools by improving on its content filtering system (Image: George Wong via ubergizmo.com)

YouTube is a great resource of educational videos for all kinds of subjects, and when YouTube For Schools rolled out, school administrators and teachers could now use these resources to teach kids without being exposed to the uglier side of the video sharing site, such as harsh comments and racist remarks.
However, this new feature from YouTube is far from perfect. …