YouTube copies Twitch with feature that lets you tip your favorite stars $2
Viewers can now clap at their favorite YouTube stars, added as another way for creators to earn money through the Google-owned video platform.
Twitch remains king of livestreaming, but YouTube is catching up
Amazon's Twitch remains the most-viewed livestreaming platform in 2020, but YouTube is catching up, with tool integration and better streamers discoverability.
The time you lost watching YouTube ads last year netted Google $15 billion
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, revealed YouTube’s revenue from advertising: $15 billion. That's just under 10 percent of Alphabet’s total revenue for 2019.
Overwatch League, Call of Duty League to exclusively stream on YouTube
Activision Blizzard and Google entered a partnership that includes an exclusive streaming deal for the Overwatch League and newly launched Call of Duty League on YouTube. The Overwatch League moves after two seasons on Twitch, which appears to be losing its dominance in the video game streaming industry.
Instagram wants to be both YouTube and TikTok, but it’s succeeding at neither
Instagram's dismissal of the IGTV button on its main app signals the video platform's growing troubles as competitors like TikTok continue to rise. IGTV, while trying to take on both TikTok and YouTube, has evolved into a confusing offering and pushed users to look elsewhere for their vertical content.
YouTube TV launches on PlayStation 4 consoles in the U.S.
PS4 users have known for a while that the PS Vue live TV streaming service would be leaving the platform at the end of January. Now we know what will take its place, at least initially: YouTube TV. The flat-rate TV streaming service owned by Google is the first third-party service on Sony's popular game consoles.
Digital Trends Live: Wyze data leak, YouTube limits on young creators, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Luke Larsen dig into the biggest trending stories in tech, including a Wyze data leak, YouTube limits kid creators, an Apple gaming Mac, the Mars 2020 rover, Turkey pushes electric cars, a drone mystery, and more.
The 2010s were a difficult decade for photography, but it’s not black and white
A decade of decline for camera sales was met by a cascade of creativity resulting from the rise of the smartphone and social media. It hasn't all been good, but photography remains a core component of human expression.
An eight-year-old U.S. YouTuber earned $26 million in 2019
The highest-paid YouTuber in 2019 is apparently an eight-year-old boy who reviews toys. Ryan Kaji's videos, as well as related sponsorships and sales, raked in a colossal $26 million over the last 12 months, beating his 2018 income by $4 million. Videos posted on Ryan’s World regularly receive several million views.
YouTube creator PewDiePie says he’s taking a break from making videos
YouTube personality, PewDiePie, announced in a video over the weekend that he’s going to take a break from the platform early next year. PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) critiqued YouTube’s new harassment policy that was announced last week, partially blaming the change as his reason for taking a break.
Google and YouTube team to help protect people’s privacy during 2020 census
Starting with the April 1, 2020, census, people will have the option of completing it online. Google and YouTube are trying to combat deceptive practices and the spread of misinformation about the census through combined new efforts and policies. Google has also created the 2020 U.S. Census Task Force.
YouTube updates harassment policy and expands it to all creators on platform
YouTube updated its anti-harassment policy to include implied threats, as well as malicious insults based on a person’s race, gender, expression, or sexual orientation. The new policy has been extended to all users, including YouTube creators and public officials that use the platform.
YouTube Rewind 2019 is an improvement, but fans still hate it
YouTube Rewind 2019 is here, rounding up all of the most popular videos on the platform in 2019. Among them? Music from the likes of Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X, as well as entertainment from popular creators like MrBeast and PewDiePie, and content related to Fortnite and Minecraft.
How to make money on YouTube
YouTube lets content creators the world over make a decent living from their videos. If you want to get in on that action, then learning how to make money on YouTube is the first step. We'll leave the creativity to you, but here's how to monetize your account and avoid the demonetization pitfalls.
YouTube launches fresh new homepage on iOS and Android tablets and desktops
YouTube is making it easier to navigate your homepage on tablets and desktop devices with its new interface changes. The new homepage will combine larger thumbnails with longer titles, and will add channel icons into the mix. You'll also get some additional features, such as adding to Now Playing playlists.
YouTube’s money-spinning, attention-grabbing Super Stickers have gone global
YouTube has been testing its attention-grabbing, money-spinning Super Stickers feature for a few months, and is now ready for it to go global. With it, you have the chance to pay for animated stickers to send to your favorite creators during a live chat, ensuring you stand out from the crowd.
Digital Trends Live: Libra testimony wrap-up, Tesla makes a profit, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we dig into the biggest trending tech stories, including a wrap-up of Zuckerberg’s Libra testimony, Tesla makes a profit, Google’s Digital Wellbeing platform, an interactive YouTube series, the volocopter flies over Singapore, and more.
You’re probably seeing more social media propaganda, but don’t blame the bots
As the amount of social media propaganda climbs, so does the number of different tactics to avoid detection. A recent study from the University of Oxford suggests that more countries use social media accounts run by actual people — including communication firms and hired students — than bots.
Vloggers arrested in Iran for flying a drone have been freed
Two vloggers sent to jail in Iran in July 2019 for allegedly flying their drone without a permit have been released. Australians Mark Firkin and Jolie King had been enjoying a world trip, documenting their adventures on YouTube and social media sites, when they were detained by the Iranian authorities.
You can finally watch YouTube TV on Amazon Fire TV devices
Due to a very public spat between Amazon and Google, it was impossible to watch YouTube TV on an Amazon Fire TV device. But after a reconciliation earlier this year, that has now changed, with Amazon announcing full support for Google's live-TV streaming service on all but two of its Fire TV streamers.
YouTube Music replaces Google Play Music as default app for tunes in Android 10
Google has announced that YouTube Music will now come pre-installed on Android 10, essentially replacing Google Play Music as the default music-streaming app on Android. The service will also now come pre-installed on new devices sold with Android 9.
YouTube removes verification from channels, faces backlash, reverifies everyone
YouTube is facing a backlash from its content creators once again, this time for taking away and then re-instating the verification of a large number of channels. On Thursday, many YouTube channels were unverified. After significant complaints from content creators, the company re-verified the accounts.
YouTube struts onto the runway with a new hub for fashionistas
Fashionistas have a new online destination with the launch this week of a YouTube hub featuring a huge range of style and beauty content gathered from right across the platform. Contributions come from major brands and top models to industry insiders and YouTube creators.
Digital Trends Live: YouTube gets fined, paying with your hand at Whole Foods
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we dig into the biggest trending stories in tech, including a $170 million dollar fine for YouTube child privacy violations, Facebook to stop using facial recognition by default on your photos, paying at Whole Foods with just your hand, and much more.
YouTube slapped with $170 million fine for violating children’s online privacy
The FTC has fined YouTube $170 million as part of a settlement for the video platform’s treatment of kids. YouTube allegedly collected personal information used to track internet users from viewers on channels aimed at children. The FTC alleges YouTube collected this information without notifying parents.
YouTube deletes 30,000 videos for hate speech and promises new harassment policy
YouTube said that it removed more than 30,000 videos last month that contained hate speech content. According to YouTube, the videos containing hate speech content that were removed over the last month represented only about 3% of the views that videos about knitting had during the same time frame.
Any child who can do basic math can hack YouTube Kids’ parent controls
YouTube Kids officially launched Friday on the web. The website offers a similar experience to the YouTube Kids mobile app and allows parents to set limits on what content their children are able to watch on the platform. But those limits are only protected by math questions most kids can answer.
YouTube disables 210 channels spreading misinformation about Hong Kong protests
YouTube has disabled 210 accounts believed to be working in tandem to spread misinformation about the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, Google announced Thursday. The move comes days after Facebook and Twitter removed hundreds of accounts from their platforms that were focused on discrediting the protests.
YouTube to stop serving targeted ads to kids, but groups say it’s not enough
YouTube has agreed to stop serving target advertisements to children, Bloomberg reports. The company was the subject of an FTC investigation over the practice but has apparently settled. YouTube's critics say it's not enough, and vow to challenge the decision.
Apple has released some videos designed to give you a tingly feeling
Does your iPhone ever cause you frustration? How about your MacBook Pro keyboard, do those sticky keys drive you crazy? If so, you might like to check out Apple’s first ASMR videos, designed to calm your soul. You have four to choose from, though none feature Tim Cook eating a watermelon.
Fortnite views on Twitch fall, Apex Legends misses top 10 games played
Fortnite continues to reign as the top game being played on Twitch but non-gaming content continues to rise. StreamElements' livestreaming report also showed that Facebook Gaming is on the rise and the top streamer crown continues to elude Ninja. Not one can claim it, actually.
YouTube offers creators more ways to boost their bank accounts
YouTube has unveiled several new features aimed at helping creators to monetize their channel outside of the usual ad-based system. Super Stickers, for example, lets fans buy animated stickers to drop into livestream chats, while Channel Memberships now lets you offer various price points for different perks.
Google-Amazon truce brings YouTube to Fire TV, Prime Video to Chromecast
After a yearslong battle, Amazon and Google have finally made peace over their two main video products: Prime Video and YouTube. The YouTube app is coming to Fire TV devices, while the Prime Video app on mobile devices will get support for Chromecast devices, as well as compatibility with a range of Android TV products.
YouTube now gives you more control over the videos it picks for you
If you've ever wished for greater control over the videos that show up in YouTube's homepage or Up Next areas, it's your lucky day: The company is bringing new features to its iOS, Android and desktop apps that let you see more relevant content, and ban suggestions from channels you don't like.