For the last few days there has been speculation over what big announcement YouTube were about to make: A deal with Hulu? High definition video? They’ve taken over the world?
None of these turned out to be true but it could just be that the truth is more interesting anyway, as it means YouTube will now be more user friendly, and irresistible than ever before.
Let’s face it, YouTube was already pretty open, with embedded videos everywhere you look on the Web, but the freshly announced APIs mean we’ll be seeing even more YouTube video related widgets around the Internet.
YouTube Blog Announcement
According to the YouTube Blog, these new APIs, of which there are going to be several, mean there are going to be:
“some powerful new ways to integrate YouTube content and community into other websites, desktop applications, video games, mobile devices, televisions, cameras, and lots more.”
And they’re not exaggerating.
The API updates are going to allow developers and website owners much deeper access to YouTube’s service, essentially meaning YouTube could soon be available from anywhere on the Web.
From The Comfort Of Any Website
Websites, forums and communities alike can use the new APis to integrate YouTube successfully in to their page of choice, giving users the chance to upload, edit, search and more besides, all without leaving the comfort of their own corner of the Net.
With YouTube basically doing all the hard work of transcoding, hosting, streaming and thumbnailing the videos, it means webmasters are free to use the service how they please, and with little to no hassle.
The engineers behind the new APIs aren’t content with just working their butts off to create these new interactive possibilities, and so also made this video explaining the new code:
Let The YouTube Engineers Explain
Conclusions
What this layman’s terms is that YouTube is going nowhere but up. If you thought the site already had too much of a stranglehold on Internet video, then today is not going to be a good day for you.
The rest of us however can applaud the engineers for creating the APIs which could see YouTube become even more of a necessity than it is already.
