What is YouTube?

YouTube is a website that allows you to watch videos posted by people from all over the globe. It is a vast repository of videos, ranging from music to comedy to how-to guides and more. If you can think of it, you can probably find it on YouTube, and uploading your own videos is almost as easy as watching content posted by others.

Finding and Watching Videos on YouTube:

-To find videos, find the white bar at the top of the page labeled “Search.” Enter a few keywords for what you are looking for, then push the magnifying glass button next to the search bar, or just hit the enter key. This will produce a list of videos matching your search. Once you find a video you like, just click the name of the video and it should open up automatically.

Note, you can’t just download videos off YouTube, because these materials are the intellectual property of the person who uploaded them. To protect their copyrighted material (and yours,

if you upload to YouTube), YouTube does not allow you to download directly from their site.

To begin watching a video, just click the name or image of the video that you want to watch. Your video will open a new window and automatically begin to play.

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Introduction to YouTube

To bring up the options for that video, move your cursor over the video. The buttons shown above will fade into view, giving you the following options:

1. Pause/resume the video2. Skip to the next video. If this is a series, it will play the next video in the series. Otherwise it will

show you something similar to what you are watching.3. Raise or lower the volume4. A counter showing how far into the video you are5. The red bar across the bottom allows you to skip through the video by clicking on the line6. Clicking the gear will option the options menu

Autoplay toggles whether or not another video will play after this one Annotations turns messages from the video poster on or off Speed speeds up or slows down the movie Quality adjusts how sharp the picture is. Lower quality moves will load faster, so if the

movie stops or stutters consider lowering the quality (it will do this by default)7. (and 8) set the video to either large screen or full screen.9. (and 10) Add the video to a playlist, or send it to someone else

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Managing Your Account and Creating Playlists:

AccountsSome features of YouTube can only be accessed by logging in. To login, click the “Sign In” button in the upper right, then sign in by either creating or using an existing Google account. Once signed in, this will enable several features of YouTube. To change your account details, click on your profile icon in the upper right corner of the page, then click the gear to edit your settings.

PlaylistsOne feature that logging in enables is the creation of playlists, which are collections of videos that you can save and watch later. You can create a playlist by clicking on the “library” button on the left side of the home and search pages, then clicking on the “New playlist” button. Videos can then be added to playlists from a search by hovering over a video and clicking the three dots that appear to the right, or by clicking the “Add To” button under the video while playing.

SubscriptionsUsers of YouTube who publish videos can also create channels, which other users can subscribe to to see their favorite content creator's videos as soon as they are released. If you like another YouTuber's channel, you can click the “subscribe” button below one of their videos while or after it is playing. Once you do this, you will receive periodic notifications when that user has released a new video to that channel, and they will appear more often in your recommended videos when you open YouTube.

Posting Videos to YouTube:To upload a video, click the “Upload” button in the upper right corner of the screen. From there, either drag the video that you want to upload onto the arrow, or click on “select files to upload,” navigate to the file that you want to upload, and click open.

Remember, it is always important to only upload content that you ownor that you have obtained permission for from the original contentcreator. While this includes the video itself, remember that this alsoincludes any audio that you might use in the background, like musicor dialog from another YouTuber's videos.

When in doubt, try contacting the original creator of the work, and askthem if you can include it in your video.

Once YouTube recognizes your file, it will process it, which can take some time. Once it is ready, take a moment to consider the different options at your disposal for customizing your upload, then click Publish to publish it to YouTube.

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Options while uploading1. Once YouTube processes your video, it will create a link directly to your video. By sharing this

link, you can give people direct access to your video without them needing to search for it.2. In addition to a title, you can add a comment to your video.3. You can add tags to your video, to make it easier to find in searches using keywords4. By default, anyone can find your video by searching YouTube. If you want to limit this, you can

set it to Unlisted (it can't be found but you can share it directly) or Private (only you can watch the video)

5. Checking these boxes will automatically share the video on Google+ or Twitter (there will be more opportunities to share on other social media services after clicking Publish)

6. Add the video to one of your playlists7. Click on Advanced settings to find other features and setting8. Finally, click Publish to finish uploading your video to YouTube

Changing Settings and Managing Content

Your account comes with a number of pre-set settings that you may want to review. By clicking on the letter in the upper right corner, you can open your YouTube (Google) account to view your account management options. To edit your account’s settings, click the gear. To manage the videos that you have uploaded, click ‘Creator Studio.

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Overview: This gives you general information about your account, like your name and access. Connected Accounts: Lets you link other social media accounts with this YouTube account. Privacy: Control who can see your likes and saves, your activity feed, and ads you are shown Notifications: When and how YouTube can connect you (useful if you upload videos) Playback: shows how videos are shown (captions, notifications, etc) Connected TVs: Allows you to connect YouTube to a smart TV

If you instead want to manage the videos that you have uploaded to YouTube, instead click ‘Creator Studio’

Dashboard: Shows details about your videos and how well they are doing Video Manager: Allows you to edit videos, playlists, and copyright information Live Streaming: Broadcast events live through YouTube Community: Manage community activity like comments, messages, subscribers, etc. Channel: Manage how upload videos are bundled and shown to viewers Analytics: View data on who is viewing your videos, for low long, when and how. Translations: Publish translations of your videos, or allow the community to help Create: YouTube’s embedded music and media tools

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Editing Uploaded Videos

Editing the video after you have uploaded it allows you to update and modify it, even after you have published the video for public view. YouTube also includes a set of built-in

Info & Settings: Allows you to update the title, description, availability, presence in playlists, etc.

Enhancements: Adjust color, apply filters, slow/timelapse video, crop, and more. Audio: Add public domain music and sound effects to videos. End screen & Annotations: adjust content that displays after your videos. Cards: Add objects and notifications that appear during your video. Subtitles/CC: Add text to videos for viewers who are hard of hearing or speak another

language.

Important Topics for YouTubers Does your title and thumbnail represent your video at a glance? Will it appear in a search? Who are your audience and viewers? Is there anything you don't want some people to see? How do you want to handle commentary? Is there a larger community that's involved in your video content? How do you want to handle sharing and publicizing your video? Is this video part of a larger social media presence? What are your goals? Do you want to track statistics and analytics? Is this video part of a series or channel? How do you want to manage it? Community resources (Northside's Digital Studio) Remember to have fun!

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