We’ll be getting to our Fringe Fridays feature in a minute, but first I’d like to congratulate Buns and Chou Chou of Rabbit Bites for winning THE 9’s ‘Mammals of the Year Award.’ Here’s their acceptance speech: And finally, since Christmas is just around the corner here’s a Fringe Fridays holiday classic, last year’s phenomenal Don’t Die Ding: Happy Holidays! -Kent, Yahoo! video Team

The Most Influential videos of All Time
The site webbyawards.com recently honored the 12 most influential online videos of all time. While it s definitely an entertaining cast (link), the list only contains videos up to 2006. I feel that 2007 was no slouch as far as amazing online video is concerned. And since we are nearing the end of the year, I thought I’d highlight a few famous videos from the past 12 months that would probably make the revised list. Dramatic Prairie Dog Never has 5 seconds of video made such a large impact on popular culture. Chocolate Rain Tay Zonday s majestic vocal chords and incongruously young looks spawned an infinite number of impersonators and parodies. On the strength of this one song, Tay has been presented with the opportunity to tour the world and play his music. Don t Taze Me Bro! These four words were, hands down, the winner for “Fratboy t-shirt slogan of 2007″. Initially the video looked like blatant evidence of excessive force by security officers. However, over time the developing story eventually exposed an attention hound that probably got what he deserved. Honorable mentions: Leave Britney Alone http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1116079 Haitian UFO s http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1006571 Let me know what you think in the comments. -Elias, Yahoo! video Team

The Davos Question
Every year, the world’s top leaders meet in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum to grapple with global problems. They discuss everything from climate change to world poverty to global governance. This year, we get to join them via video. Here’s how it works: First, upload your video to YouTube answering The Davos Question: “What one thing do countries, companies, or individuals need to do in 2008 to make the world a better place?” Then, submit your video to the Davos channel on YouTube. You can watch and rank other YouTuber’s ideas, and the highest-rated videos will be screened at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 23-27. World leaders will see your videos and respond with their thoughts right here on YouTube. So get crackin’ with your answers to the Davos Question. By connecting with each other and our leaders, we can build support around ideas that will make our world a better one in 2008. Yours, Steve G. aka Citizentube YouTube News & Politics

We Didn’t Start the Viral
Have you noticed how Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ has been popping up in videos about, well, video? First there was Dan Meth’s Internet People, which loosely used the song’s structure, but not its melody to give an animated retrospective on viral video: Then there was Cakke’s The Internet Stars are Viral, which used Joel’s actual tune in a kind of hyper-clip show of Internet memes: And just recently, we’ve been treated to Not Another Bubble by The Richter Scales, which borrows the song to have a laugh at this whole Internet video thing: So, is this the last we’ll hear of ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’? Is there another song more well-suited to retrospective? Or will someone create a whole new video summing up this phenomena? -Kent, Yahoo! video Team

The New York Anime Festival on YouTube
Anime may have its roots in Japanese pop-culture, but it has undoubtedly developed into a worldwide phenomenon. Indeed, Naruto and Pokemon have become part of our global lexicon. Accordingly, the company behind New York Comic Con has now created a festival devoted entirely to anime: The New York Anime Festival, featuring exclusive anime screenings, manga, cosplay, video games, live-action Japanese cinema, Japanese fashion and food. If you weren’t in New York last week to catch the festivities, have no fear IFCNews is bringing the festival to you. Check out the film & Animation page for your anime update! Still not hip to the anime phenomenon? Check out some of these videos from YouTube partners and you will be. Enjoy the fest, Sara P. aka TheStoryBoard YouTube film

Have a DIY Holiday…
The Wood Whisperer may claim that homemade gifts are for those who are “too cheap to buy real presents,” but we don’t buy it: There’s something special about receiving a handcrafted gift that’s unlike anything else. There’s even a pledge going around right now to buy nothing but handmade gifts this holiday season. On YouTube, you don’t have to look very far to find DIY inspiration. Our gurus give lessons on how to make everything from holiday cards and one-of-a-kind gifts for your family — creative pencil holders, crazy quilt stockings, Christmas aprons, anyone? — to decorations for your home. They are YouTube’s elves, video‘ing in workshops all over the world: Have a great handmade gift idea that you’d love to share? It’s not too late to respond to Todd Oldhams’s holiday call out. Your DIY video could be featured on the home page with other great guru! The last day for entries is December 19th so hurry! Happy Crafting, Sadia H. aka sublinx YouTube HowTo + Style

Ask Raja
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer? Or to go one-on-one with LeBron James? Or catch a no-look pass from Steve Nash? Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns knows each of those experiences intimately well. In fact, those experiences are all part of his day-to-day job. Hoop fans, if you’re curious about the day-to-day life of a pro ballplayer, here’s your chance to get an answer or two: Use the video Response function to post a video with your question. Raja will be taking your questions throughout the season, so check back to the Phoenix Suns YouTube Channel regularly. Keep balling, Andrew B. aka playactionpass YouTube Sports

Site Update 12/12
Check out the latest updates made to YouTube during the wee hours. This list is jam-packed with greatness and some improvements that many of you have been requesting. Enjoy! NEW videoS TAB We’ve merged the Categories and video browse pages into one new, easier-to-navigate home for video search. All the old search options can be found there, along with a new “Spotlight” section that allows you to scroll through featured videos. You’ll find some design improvements on the Channels and Community tabs as well. MOST ACTIVE & PREVIOUSLY POPULAR The videos tab now includes two new viewing options. Click “Most Active Today” and you’ll see the current day’s most buzz-worthy titles, which can then be filtered by category. Click “Previously Popular” to find the most-viewed videos from one week ago or one month ago. CHANNEL RESULTS IN SEARCH YouTube search results now include videos and channels, making it easier for you to access the content you’re looking for. When you enter a search term, highly relevant channels may be displayed at the top of the results page. music SUBCATEGORIES Our music section is now broken down into genres such as Rock, Pop, Rap & Hip-Hop, Classical, and more. This will make it easier to find and promote all sorts of music videos on the site. RSS LINKS ON video BROWSE PAGES To stay up to date on the searches you check frequently, subscribe to our video browse pages by clicking the RSS link located beneath the categories list. PROFILE PICTURE You can choose any image you want to represent your channel, instead of a video still. Just click the “Upload an image” option on your Account page. SUBSCRIPTIONS UPDATE Closed and suspended accounts will now be automatically removed from your subscriptions. If you were subscribed to several closed/suspended accounts, you will notice a one-time large drop in numbers as your list is updated. COMMENTS VOTING OPTIONAL Now you can choose whether or not you want to allow users to vote on comments made on your videos (thumbs-up/thumbs-down feature). You can select this under a new “Comment Voting” section for both Upload and Edit video and sharing options. Your local correspondent now presents another installment of YouTube News! Take it away pzottolo… Don’t forget to comment here, email us or vlog and tell us what you think after poking around these new features. Take it easy, The YouTube Team

This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Video Links. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.