YouTube offers members a chance at stardom
By George Gardner
The online video leader, YouTube, announced today that they will be holding the very first YouTube Video Awards which will recognize the best user-created videos of 2006.
The YouTube Video Awards will be given to seven videos in the categories: most creative, most inspirational, best series, best comedy, musician of the year (go Andy!), best commentary, and the most adorable video ever.
“If you think of 2006, it was really a pioneering year for online video and for user-generated content,” said Jamie Byrne, head of YouTube product marketing. “We put this together to recognize the best content from 2006, but we’re really excited because it has a lot of potential for the future as we continue to see new genres and new stars in online video.”
YouTube will hand select all nominees and locate them at youtube.com/YTAwards. Once the nominees are selected, Members will be given the decisions by voting on their favorites in each category; voting will begin today and conclude on Friday.
The winners in each category will be announced on March 25, and will be featured on YouTube. Winning members will receive a trophy of which the design will be revealed later.
“We wanted to call out some of the most popular videos and let the users choose which ones deserve some additional recognition,” said Jamie Byrne.
In the Past, Youtube’s popularity has spawned the creation of many Internet celebrities; many individuals have attracted a massive amount of attention from their videos. Among those, some have had favorable events happen such as YouTube member Brooke Brodack, believed to be the first who’s videos led to a mainstream media contract.
Byrne hinted towards the YouTube Awards possibly becoming a permanent, annual affair if the first YT Awards are received well by the community.
No word has been given as to how the nominees were selected; although, with over 100 million video clips and only 67 employees, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see next year’s nominees user submitted.
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