Web Baby Shower Help: Videos
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million -- and now you can add your YouTube.com videos to your Web Baby Shower!
Topics:
Information For Web Baby Shower Hosts
What is YouTube.com?
YouTube is an online video service that processes and stores your videos so that they can be displayed at YouTube.com or on other websites. YouTube is an extremely popular site that is used by people from all walks of life for every kind of video purpose. While they do have an acceptable use policy and a flagging system for inappropriate content, please be advised that you may come across video content that is within the acceptable use policy, but is still offensive. If you do come across something displeasing, please move on and enjoy the good parts about YouTube.com.
That said, I have chosen to partner with YouTube.com because I believe they provide:
- a superior online video service that gives you complete control over who can access your videos and how
- a way to upload videos in several different formats -- and everyone can still watch them!
- a positive and supportive community atmosphere for enjoying those videos
- a place to keep and share your videos even after your Web Baby Shower has ended!
To learn more about YouTube.com, please familiarize yourself with the following information from their website:
Setting Up A YouTube.com Account
In order to display your videos on your Web Baby Shower, you need to set up an account with YouTube.com and upload your videos to their website. If the expecting parents already have an account at YouTube.com, then you can ask them for help in adding their videos to their Web Baby Shower.
To set up an account at YouTube, please make sure you have read the articles listed above (under "What is YouTube.com?") and then visit: Join YouTube
Please note that Web Baby Shower cannot provide support for the YouTube website. If you experience any difficulties in setting up a YouTube account, please make sure you visit the YouTube Help Center and Contact YouTube directly.
Recording Videos
How you record your videos is completey up to you! Depending on your comfort level and expertise, you can use a digital camera, a digital camcorder, your cell phone or mobile device, a webcam or even professional video equipment! You can even edit your videos using your favorite video editing software before uploading them.
YouTube can accept digital videos in the following formats: .WMV, .AVI, .MOV (QuickTime), and .MPG. Each video can be no longer than 10 minutes or have a filesize larger than 100MB.
Please do not include any copyrighted materials in your videos, including any music you wish to incorporate.
For more information about making videos, please see YouTube Help Center: Making Videos.
Due to the number of variables involved in creating digital videos, Web Baby Shower cannot provide support for recording or editing your videos. The creation of your videos is completely up to you.
Uploading Videos To YouTube.com
For the most complete information on uploading videos, please see YouTube Help Center: Uploading Videos. There are a few ways to upload videos to YouTube:
The most basic way is to save your videos on your computer's hard drive and upload them to your YouTube account. Simply log into your YouTube account and click the "Upload Videos" button. From there, YouTube will guide you through describing your video, choosing your privacy options* and uploading your video.
You can also record straight from your webcam to YouTube by using their "Quick Capture" feature. Please note that this is not live streaming video, but can be a close approximation for your remote guests. Please see "Webcam Broadcasts" below for more information.
Last, if you record your video on a cell phone or other mobile device, you can set up a "Mobile Profile Link" for emailing your videos to your YouTube account. Please see YouTube's Mobile Device Help Page for more information.
Please note that Web Baby Shower cannot provide support for problems with uploading videos to YouTube's website. If you experience any difficulties, please see YouTube Help Center: Uploading Videos and Contact YouTube directly.
*Whichever upload method you choose, PLEASE make sure that your videos are marked "Enabled: External sites may embed and play this video" so that they can be displayed here at Web Baby Shower! Also, consider leaving your videos "Public" in order to make it easier for everyone to watch them (see Private vs. Public Videos, below)
"Allow External Sites to Embed This Video"
To make sure your videos will play here at Web Baby Shower, please choose "Enabled: External sites may embed and play this video" in the "Allow External Sites to Embed This Video" section. This is the default setting for videos uploaded to YouTube, so you really do not have to do anything. If you choose to disable the embed feature, your videos will not play here at Web Baby Shower, which kind of defeats the whole purpose!
NOTE: While you do need to enable embedding of your videos, you do not need the "Embed HTML" that YouTube provides. All you need is the YouTube Account User Name that the video is under or the URL of the video (see below).
Private vs. Public Videos
You are welcome to choose whichever privacy options you feel comfortable with when you upload your videos to YouTube.com, but you should be aware of the restrictions that Private videos create.
If you mark a YouTube video as "Private," in order for anyone else to be able to view your "private" videos, whether at YouTube.com or here at Web Baby Shower, you will have to send them a special "Friend Invitation" from your YouTube.com account and each and every guest will have to sign up for a YouTube account to accept the invitation.
In light of this, I really have to recommend leaving your YouTube videos "public" so that all of your guests can view them easily, both here at Web Baby Shower and at YouTube.com.
If you think your guests are web-savvy enough to either already have a YouTube.com account or to want to sign up for one to view your private videos, then it may be a viable option to mark your videos "private."
I am confident enough in YouTube's dedication to online safety to recommend leaving videos public, and it is their recommendation as well. I also believe that the site is large enough that even public videos will go relatively unnoticed, unless you go out of your way to publicize them.
For a little extra safety with your public videos, I would recommend avoiding the words "baby shower", "pregnancy", "pregnant" in the video title, description, and tags to help make a little harder for the general public to find them. You can also take the videos down or mark them as private after your Web Baby Shower ends.
Adding YouTube Videos To Your Web Baby Shower
Once your videos are uploaded to and "live" at YouTube.com, you can add them to your Web Baby Shower. To add videos to your Web Baby Shower:
- Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
- Click the "host control panel" link near the bottom of the page
- Once you have logged into the Host Control Panel, click the "Video Manager" icon (green circle with a video camera)
- Choose Add Videos
- Click Go!
- There are two ways to add YouTube videos to your Web Baby Shower:
- Add By YouTube User Name:
This method works better if all the videos you want to add are under one user's account at YouTube, if all of the videos are marked "Public", and if they are all within the 20 most recently added to the account.
- Choose Add By User and enter the YouTube user name in the space provided
- Make sure you type the user name correctly
- Make sure the user name is an active user at YouTube.com
- Make sure the user has uploaded videos to YouTube and that they are marked "public". If they are private, you must use the Add By URL method (below)
- Click Go!
- You will be presented with a list of (up to) the 20 most recent public videos in the user's account; you can see all the video data plus preview each video.
- Simply check the videos you would like to add to your Web Baby Shower and Click "Add Checked Videos"
- Add By YouTube URL:
This method works better if any of the videos are marked "private" at YouTube, if they are not from the same user account, or if they are older than the 20 most recent
- Choose Add By URL and Click Go!
- You need to find the YouTube URL for each video. To do this, click the link to YouTube which will open in a new window:
- Once you have located the video on YouTube's website, next to the video, you will see information about the video including the title, author, date uploaded, category and so forth. In that area, there is a box labeled "URL".
- Click on it to highlight the URL and then copy it (Edit > Copy or Ctrl+C)
- Switch back to the Web Baby Shower Video Manager window and paste the URL into the YouTube URLs box
- Repeat until you have copied all of the URLs from all of the videos you wish to add
- Please enter only ONE URL PER LINE
- Please make sure you do not modify the URLs in any way. Copy them directly from YouTube
- DO NOT USE THE EMBED HTML -- USE ONLY THE URL
- Make sure the videos are "Live" at YouTube
- Once you have entered all the URLs of all the videos you wish to add, click "Submit"
- You will be presented with a list of the videos you entered, along with a thumbnail where you can preview the video and see their descriptions
- If all of the videos are correct, leave them all checked and click "Add Checked Videos"
- If any of the videos are not correct, uncheck the "Add" box next to the unwanted videos before clicking "Add Checked Videos"
Notes:
- Once you have added a video or videos to your Web Baby Shower a new "Videos" link will appear in your Web Baby Shower navigation bar (in addition to the Guest Book, Photos, Gift Registries, Live Chat, Birthday Bets, etc).
- If you plan to do a live webcam or mobile device broadcast, I would recommend practice adding by both username and URL, so you can figure out which is fastest and easiest for you. Please see "Webcam Broadcasts" below for additional information.
- If you want to keep your videos "private" at YouTube, then you have to use Add By URL. You also have to send a "Friend Invite" from YouTube and ask all of your guests to sign up for a YouTube account to view your private videos. See "Private vs. Public Videos", above.
- At this time there is no limit to the number of YouTube videos you can add to your Web Baby Shower.
Removing Videos From Your Web Baby Shower
If you would like to remove a video or videos from your Web Baby Shower:
- Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
- Click the "host control panel" link near the bottom of the page
- Once you have logged into the Host Control Panel, click the "Video Manager" icon (green circle with a video camera)
- Choose "Remove Videos"
- A list of the videos being displayed in your Web Baby Shower will appear
- To remove a video, check the Remove box next to its title
- When you have selected the video(s) you wish to remove click "Remove Checked Videos"
Notes
- This option will not appear in the Video Manager until you have added at least one video
- Removing a video from your Web Baby Shower will not remove it from YouTube. If you wish to remove it from YouTube as well, you need to log into your YouTube account and remove it there as well.
- You may wish to re-organize any remaining videos in your Web Baby Shower account
- If you remove all of the videos from your Web Baby Shower, the "Videos" link will also be removed from your Web Baby Shower navigation bar
- If you accidentally remove a video from your Web Baby Shower, you can simply add it again. See "Adding YouTube Videos To Your Web Baby Shower" above.
Changing The Order of Your Videos at Web Baby Shower
Your videos will appear on the Videos page in your Web Baby Shower in the order in which you add them to your Web Baby Shower. If you wish for them to appear in a different order, you can specify that order by:
- Go to your Web Baby Shower home page
- Click the "host control panel" link near the bottom of the page
- Once you have logged into the Host Control Panel, click the "Video Manager" icon (green circle with a video camera)
- Choose "Change the order the videos appear on my Web Baby Shower Videos page"
- Click Go!
- A list of the videos being displayed in your Web Baby Shower will appear, in the order in which they are currently being displayed
- You can change the order by either:
- Clicking the "move to top" button (a blue up arrow) next to the video you wish to appear first
- Enter a new numerical order in the spaces provided. Please make sure you enter only positive, whole numbers with no gaps
Note: This option will only appear after you have uploaded 2 or more videos. Otherwise, there really is no reason to sort one video or no videos.
Making Changes To Your YouTube Videos
If you wish to edit any of the information that accompanies your videos, such as the Title or Description, please log into your YouTube account and edit the information there. It is not possible to edit your YouTube videos at Web Baby Shower; you can simply display them here at Web Baby Shower.
Webcam and Mobile Device Broadcasts
At this time neither Web Baby Shower nor YouTube support live streaming video where your guests would be able to watch a YouTube video in "real time".* However, with YouTube's "Quick Capture" and mobile device uploads we can get pretty close. Here are some tips and ideas:
- DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
- If it is the last minute, find someone who knows exactly what they are doing with a webcam and bring them to this page.
- If no one like that is available, enjoy the event, make a couple videos as you go along and upload them afterwards.
- If you are the host of the event, I would highly recommend NOT doing the webcam broadcast yourself. Pick one of your guests who is comfortable with technology or willing to learn (in advance of the event) to be in charge of the broadcast.
- Please read YouTube's Help Center: Quick Capture
- Please make sure that the venue for your baby shower or other live event has Internet access and that the Internet access will be available to you and compatible with your computer system on the date and time you plan to hold your shower or other event.
- Please make sure you have a working webcam that is compatible with your computer and that you can bring both with you to the event. OR that there will be one provided for you.
- Charge your computer's or mobile device's batteries the night before and bring a power cord with you.
- Make sure you have plenty of available disk space on your computer and/or mobile device for recording videos.
- Make sure that the YouTube account you plan to use has been activated and that you have already uploaded a couple test videos -- this is to make sure you are familiar with the YouTube site and to make sure there won't be any delays due to your account needing to be activated and the YouTube system learning to trust that you follow the YouTube Code of Conduct. The first couple videos you upload can take a while to go live so it's best to get those out of the way BEFORE you attempt a webcam broadcast.
- Try a Quick Capture in advance of the event to make sure your webcam is compatible with the YouTube system and to familiarize yourself with the Quick Capture system. As soon as your test goes live, also practice adding it to your Web Baby Shower so that you become efficient at that as well.
- As soon as you finish a Quick Capture, you can begin another while you wait for the first one to process. I would recommend having one browser window open to do your Quick Captures, and another to check Your YouTube Account to see when they go live. As soon as they are live, you can add them to your Web Baby Shower. For Quick Captures, I would recommend Adding By URL (see above).
- Be realistic that you are not going to get every second captured on video -- even if everything goes 100% perfect technically, you are still going to want to actually enjoy the event at some point!
- You may want to tell your guests that the broadcast version will start about 1 hour after the actual event starts. This should give you enough time to capture some videos, for them to process on the YouTube site and for you to add them to your Web Baby Shower.
- WEB BABY SHOWER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SERVER OUTAGES OR OTHER SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS EITHER HERE AT WEB BABY SHOWER OR AT YOUTUBE.COM DURING THE TIME OF YOUR WEBCAM BROADCAST. In the event of a service interruption, please make sure you are saving your videos in a manner that will allow you to re-upload them once service is restored. Also consider scheduling a "technical rain date" along with your original date so that you can try again in the event of a technical interruption. This is computers after all.
- I do like to keep up some semblance of having a life outside Web Baby Shower; please note that I am not available for technical support in the evenings, nor on weekends or US Holidays. Thank you.
Alternately, if you or one of your guests have a cell phone or mobile device that can record videos, you can also broadcast video by setting up a "Mobile Profile Link" in your YouTube account and emailing your videos to your YouTube account. As soon as they go live in your YouTube account, you can add them to your Web Baby Shower. Again, I cannot stress enough to have everything set up in advance and do a couple trial runs (from recording, to uploading, to adding to your Web Baby Shower) to make sure it will go smoothly. for more information, please see YouTube Help Center: Mobile Profile
While we cannot do "real time" streaming video at Web Baby Shower, I do believe the YouTube Quick Capture and Mobile Link options can get you close enough. They also have the advantages that it is very easy for your guests to view your videos and that your videos will still be available at your Web Baby Shower for your guests to watch again. That is especially important for anyone who can not be at the live event or at a computer during the broadcast.
*If you have your heart set on having a genuine real time streaming live video webcam broadcast, I would recommend Yahoo! Messenger because it is available to the widest Internet audience and most people already have a Yahoo! account for one thing or another. Please keep in mind that each guest you invite will have to have a Yahoo! ID and download and install the Yahoo! Messenger software to view the broadcast BEFORE it begins. Depending on whether you can record as you broadcast, the video may not be available for viewing once the broadcast is done. And, all of my advice on getting set up in advance and doing some trial runs still apply! Web Baby Shower provides absolutely no support or other services regarding using Yahoo Messenger for a baby shower webcam broadcast -- you are completely on your own with it. Good luck and have fun!
When Your Web Baby Shower Ends
When your Web Baby Shower ends, the embedded YouTube videos will be removed from the Web Baby Shower system. Please note that your videos will still be available at YouTube.com; it is up to you to remove them, mark them as private or just leave them at YouTube.com.
Terms of Service
Your use of YouTube videos at Web Baby Shower is subject to the Terms and Conditions of both websites. Any violations of either websites' Terms of Service may result in the loss of video priveleges and/or services at Web Baby Shower.
In addition, Web Baby Shower is not responsible for the content found at or the conduct of the YouTube team or website. Furthermore, Web Baby Shower is also not responsible for the YouTube website being unavailable or out of service at any time.
For more information please see:
Viewing YouTube Videos At Web Baby Shower
System Requirements
In order to view YouTube videos at Web Baby Shower, you must have Javascript and Cookies enabled and the Flash Player Plug in installed in your web browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Netscape, etc).
For more information, please see: YouTube Help Center.
Your Web Baby Shower Videos Page
Once you have added at least one YouTube video to your Web Baby Shower, a new link to a "Videos" page will appear in your Web Baby Shower navigation bar (along with Guest Book, Live Chat, Photos, Birthday Bets, etc). The Videos link and page will not appear unless you have a video to display.
Playing YouTube Videos at Web Baby Shower
To play a YouTube video here at Web Baby Shower, click on the large "play" button (grey arrow) in the center of the video screen. Clicking this button will play the embedded video on your Web Baby Shower. If you click outside the play button, a new browser window will open and the video will play at YouTube.com instead. You may need to click the play button twice; once to activate the Flash plug in and again to start the video.
Video Is Hung At "Loading ..."
If you are trying to watch a video that seems to be hung up "loading ...", it is probalby because the video has been marked private and can only be viewed at YouTube by registered users on a "Friend" list. Please contact your Web Baby Shower host and ask her to mark the video "Public" so that everyone can enjoy it here at Web Baby Shower. Otherwise, you will have to ask the host for a Friend Invite and sign up for a YouTube.com account in order to watch private videos.
Viewing Videos In a Popup Window
If you plan to chat and watch videos at the same time, please first go to the Videos page and click "view videos in a popup window" first. The video you were watching will appear in a new, smaller window and you will be able to access the rest of the videos in that window. Then, in the original window, click "Chat" and log into the chat room. Now you can arrange the windows so that you can chat and watch the videos! JavaScript is required to view videos in a popup window. Please also allow popups from webbabyshower.com.
Refresh During Webcam Broadcasts
If your Web Baby Shower host is broadcasting via webcam or a mobile device, please click the "Reload" or "Refresh" button in your web browser to see the new videos as they are posted.
Information found in the Web Baby Shower Resource Directory is provided "As Is" with no warranty; information regarding pregnancy, birth and parenting is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition and is not meant to be a substitute for personal care from a professional health care practitioner. Web Baby Shower/Snowboard Mommy Productions does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible for the content or conduct of sites it links to.
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