Back in November, YouTube launched YouTube Direct, which allows publishers to embed the YouTube upload functionality directly in their sites. (See how WHDH TV in Boston used it to encourage video uploads from users right here.) Now’s there’s word that YouTube is working on a new local news effort around YouTube Direct with an unnamed San Francisco TV station.
As much as I can gather from these two stories, YouTube is meeting with bloggers and “citizen videographers” around San Francisco to encourage them to shoot and upload news video, presumably through the local station’s website using YouTube Direct. The idea is to seed the effort in YouTube’s home market to showcase to other local markets.
When asked by AllThingsD, YouTube didn’t provide any details, but said it’s experimenting with “new ways to make the platform more useful, and we’ll have more to announce on that front soon.” An announcement is expected in a week or two.
Update: Steve in comments posts a link to an old blog post by Timur Yarnall, CEO of Broadcast Interactive Media. Several local TV groups use BIM for content management as well as video uploading through a product called “YouNews,” so perhaps it’s no surprise that Yarnall criticized YouTube Direct as a “dud,” lacking features, moderation, sales training and integration needed by local TV stations. Perhaps YouTube listened?
