To mark an increase in allowable running time for non-partner videos, YouTube says it will promote a handful of video makers.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

July 29, 2010

1 Min Read

If it seems like YouTube videos are getting longer, you may be watching a particularly dull bit of filmmaking. Or it may be that the video actually is longer.

YouTube on Thursday said that it is now allowing content creators to upload videos with running times in excess of 10 minutes.

The new limit is 15 minutes, an increase that reflects audiences' growing affinity for longer form content online.

YouTube content partners have been able to publish longer videos for years, but for those not in the YouTube Partner Program, a 50% increase in allowable running time is significant.

To promote the occasion, YouTube is encouraging users to make "a video of your '15 minutes of fame.'"

YouTube product manager Joshua Siegel advises imagining this video as an attempt to communicate what you'd want the world to know about you.

To be considered, YouTube videographers should tag their submissions "yt15minutes" and upload them by Wednesday, August 4.

"We'll select a handful of people to truly gain their 15 minutes of fame by featuring them on the YouTube homepage in a future spotlight," Siegel wrote in a blog post.

YouTube's willingness to handle longer videos comes a result of growing confidence in its tools for detecting unauthorized usage of copyrighted material, such as its Content ID system.

"Because of the success of these ongoing technological efforts, we are able to increase the upload limit today," wrote Siegel.

The decision by a judge last month to throw out Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against Google and YouTube for alleged copyright infringement may also have contributed to YouTube's willingness to host longer clips.

About the Author(s)

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

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