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How to: YouTube

12 Mar 2013

Video killed the radio star, and YouTube is the place to go to see anything and everything in video format.

What is YouTube?

YouTube is a file-sharing website where users can upload, watch and share videos. Most content is uploaded by individuals, however it’s becoming more common for companies to have their own YouTube channel to upload interesting and informative videos about their business.

There’s a wide variety of content on YouTube from video-blogs to music videos to how-to guides. To keep the peace, there is a set of community guidelines that users must abide by when uploading to the site and commenting on other videos.

How do I use it?

To simply view videos without signing in or uploading content, all you have to do is visit the website – www.youtube.com.

At the top, there is a search bar where you can input your query, and hit enter or the magnifying glass button and YouTube will find videos that relate to the topic. Alternatively, if you know the name of the video you would like to watch, you can type that in too.  

On the left hand side, there’s also the option to browse popular videos by category, so even if you don’t know exactly what you’re searching for, you can still find videos that you’ll be interested in.

Uploading content

If you’d like to share that video of your gorgeous grandchild or your tourist videos of that beautiful holiday you just went on, you’ll have to create an account.

Follow the steps below:

  1. Next to the search bar, there’s an ‘upload’ button – click that. You’ll be taken to another screen prompting you to sign in or set up an account.
  2. If you don’t have a Google email, you’ll have to create one – in the top right corner, there’s a ‘create an account’ button. When prompted, fill out the details.
  3. Once you’re in the upload screen, there are a number of options.
    In the centre, you can hit ‘select files to upload’ – that will take you to your Document menu where you can choose the video you’d like to put up on YouTube.
    On the right, you also have the option to capture a video from your webcam attached to your computer or create a photo slideshow of images that are stored in your Documents.

If you have any problems, there’s a handy ‘Help and suggestions’ section under the right-hand menu which can answer all of your questions.

Once it’s uploaded, make sure you title it accordingly and if you’d like to give a description of what the video is, now is the time. You can also add ‘tags’ to the upload which means your video will show up when people type those words into the search bar. 

Remember also to customise your Privacy Settings. If it’s generic content that you don’t mind the whole world seeing, leave it public. However, if it’s a video or photos of your family that you’d prefer only your friends to see, choose ‘unlisted’. This means that only people with the URL will be able to view the video – all you have to do is email it through to them. The ‘Private’ option works in a similar way, but the invitation to view the video must come from you rather than a URL being forwarded by other people. 

Copyright

While creating your own video and uploading it is fine, if you use someone else’s music, clip or pictures, they’re likely to be protected by copyright. It’s always good practice to check with the owner before including it in any video you’re going to make or upload.

Also, it’s important to know your own copyright rights when it comes to your uploaded videos. Anything that you create from your own material is automatically copyrighted.

YouTube is a brilliant video-sharing tool, especially when it comes to keeping friends and family in the loop. Just remember to make sure your privacy settings are set correctly and that you’re not using anyone else’s material without their permission. With that in mind, head on over to YouTube to browse the videos and try your hand at uploading.