YouTube Promises 15 Minutes Of Fame

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.