Google claim to have made the site easier to navigate, with bigger, finger friendly buttons, and they even claim it’s a better experience than any device’s native app.

Since YouTube mobile’s launch in 2007, the mobile web has grown exponentially and we are now not only filming on the move, we are expecting to film it in HD and upload it to YouTube without ever seeing a computer. With a cutting-edge device like Samsung’s fantastic Galaxy S on YouTube’s new site, this is entitrely possible.

Check it out (on your iOS or Android handset) at http://m.youtube.com

So if the social apps that come with their HDTVs are not to your liking, you can either download a new one, or even create your own!

More details after the jump.

Called Internet@TV, the app store features apps (both paid and free) in the following categories:

• video
• information
• lifestyle
• games
• sports

You can already download apps from a variety of content partners, including:

• Netflix
• Picasa
• Pandora
• Twitter
• VUDU
• Rovi
• Blockbuster
• The Associated Press

As well as games including poker, Monopoly and Sudoku.

“Samsung’s goal over the past two years has been to really push the envelope in terms of consumer experience with connected TV, and 2010 is no different,” said Kevin Kyungshik Lee, Vice President of Visual Display at Samsung Electronics.

“The upgraded Internet@TV feature with Samsung Apps is another major step in terms of a truly personalized, easy to navigate and convenient connected TV experience, which is why we’re offering it in the vast majority of TV models 40 inches and above and now extending those capabilities across multiple products.”

The app store isn’t available until July, but it’s a great move by Samsung. Internet-connected HDTVs were a feature of CES 2009, primarily with Yahoo!’s widgets, but the big problem with such features is that they’re restricted by the range of apps available.

By opening up the apps and creating a single portal to download new ones, Samsung not only increase the desirability of their range of HDTVs and the like, they also extend its use.

And if you’ve bought a load of Samsung-specific apps, when you upgrade, you’re more likely to purchase another Samsung HDTV, simply to continue using the apps you’ve already bought.

Of course, all this relies on the apps actually being usable, but it’s a smart move by Samsung, and shows the different divisions of the company are really working well together.

[Source: WebProNews]

How to be a social media rockstar

In order to become a social media rockstar, you’ll need to get the scoops before your competitors, get the interviews they don’t get, and ensure you upload before they have even have a chance to switch their laptops on. It’s all about being first with the news and being in the bests locations to get it.

Social media rockstars like Robert Scoble travel the world finding stories, interviewing people and breaking the news before anyone else. Their videos and podcasts are professional quality and their gear never lets them down.

Just how do they do it? Easy – they buy the best gear! But that doesn’t mean it costs a fortune! The list below features the gadgets used by the pros that won’t set you back a small mortgage, as well as a few tips on making sure your gear’s as good to go as it possibly can be – and certainly better than the competition’s!

1). Break the news first with a Sony DSC-G3 Wi-Fi camera

Nothing says “social media rockstar” like a gallery of pictures taken from exotic locations, or the latest sexiest toys (gadgets, cars, supermodels – whatever is your bag), or just of you hanging out with the celebs in your field.

To get those pics, you need a camera capable of taking great shots super-quick in all lighting conditions, and then lest you upload them to your favourite photo sharing site at the touch of a button.

There are many cameras you could use, but for 2009, look no further than the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-G3. Announced at CES 2009 back in January, Sony’s cracking Cyber-Shot isn’t even on sale yet, but already it’s got the tech blogosphere drooling for its release.

The reason? Built in Wi-Fi and one touch upload to dozens of different photo sharing sites. You simply take your pics using its 10.1 megapixel camera with 4x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens, connect to the Internet by pressing the WLAN button, select the Web site you want to upload your pics to, and press send. Instantly, your pics are transferred ready for your hungry audience to lap them up, and all while your competing social mediaites are still busy trying to connect their camera to their PC.

2). Podcast to perfection with the Roland Edirol Audio Recorder

Video isn’t the only medium in which you can shine as a social media rockstar. Ever heard of Podcasts? Of course you have! If you’re going to do professional podcasts, though, you need the proper equipment – in other words, a decent audio recorder.

Although many devices, such as MP3 players, cameras, camcorders and even mobile phones will let you record audio, if you’re going to do this properly, you need a device dedicated to capturing the audio of your subject.

Step forward the Roland EDIROL R-09HR PORTABLE AUDIO RECORDER 4GB
Roland Edirol R-09HR Portable High Resolution Audio Recorder.

It comes with a 4GB memory card, has a USB connection for uploading your audio to your PC, and has a large OLED screen. Best of all, it captures audio in superb quality, at up to 24bit/96KHz fidelity. If you’re living blogging an event or conference, you’re going to need the little Roland, as it’ll capture the speakers voice without muffling, and it’ll give you a valuable source to refer back to when making notes on the event that you’re covering.

WebWorkerDaily columnist Aliza Sherman wouldn’t be without her Roland Edirol when live blogging, and neither should you.

3). Pick the right Laptop

You obviously need a laptop for social media rockstardom, but think about what you’re actually going to be using it for. If you plan on getting your face out there through Live Blogging or Citizen journalism, you’ll need a small lightweight laptop. Sure the latest widescreen laptops look gorgeous, but when you have a 70kg monster sat on your lap at a conference, you soon start to see the downsides of all that screen real estate!

Believe it or not, you can get by quite easily on a 12″ screen, so consider some of the lighter laptops or even netbooks that are available with this screen size. The corresponding reduction in weight and ease of carrying it around will more than make up for its lack of features.

Just make sure your laptop of choice is compatible with, and capable of powering, any software you might need (camcorder drivers, video editing software, etc.)

4). Consider your Connectivity – then consider it again

Often neglected, but absolutely vital. You might think all you need for getting your content out there is a Wi-Fi connection, and so the nearest StarBucks will do. But what if you’re at an event where the Wi-Fi goes down? With so many people all trying to connect simultaneously, this happens at far more conferences than you’d think. Last year’s Le Web 2.0 is perhaps the most prominent conference where this happened, but it also happened to me when I was tweeting from FOWA 2008.

To make sure you have full connectivity, use a USB 3G card. These are fantastic value, and ensure your laptop is always connected to the Internet over the mobile phone network, regardless of what the local Wi-Fi network is doing.

Just for added backup, get two different 3G sticks from two different operators. As Phandroid blogger Rob Jackson discovered, if everyone’s using the same mobile network, that too will have connectivity problems. If connectivity is an absolute must, then get yourself multiple ways of connecting.

5). Power!

Sounds obvious, but no gadget is going to work without power. Fully charged batteries, spare batteries, travel adaptors, battery chargers – buy them by the bucket load! The very last thing you want is one of your devices cutting out on you just as you’re about to get that juicy quote from your interviewee.

Summary

The social media world can be pretty cut-throat. You won’t be the only hack out there trying to make a name for yourself, so you need to make sure you have the right equipment.

By now, you should know:

• What YouTube camera to buy
• The video sites that are better than YouTube
• How to succeed with online video
• The gadgets you need to become Internet famous

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and make a name for yourself!

If only it were that easy! Fortunately, I’ve created a guide on how to succeed with online video, which shows you how to use your video camera, the dozens of video upload sites and your own imagination to make real money with online video.

How to succeed as a Video blogger

There are two ways of making money from a video blog: either make yourself the focus of your videos, or create a blog that includes your own videos and those from other people.

Video blogging using your own and other people’s videos

If it’s Internet celebrity status you’re after, such as Robert Scoble, then you’ll need to include yourself in the videos you shoot, even if it’s only behind the camera. A much easier, way, though, is to mix video that you shoot yourself with videos from other producers.

The guys at YouGottaSeeThisVideo.com (left) did this to perfection, and were nominated for best video blog 2007 at the prestigious Weblog awards.

This is an easier way to have success with a video blog, as creating video can be quite time consuming, so combining your own video with videos that other people have created ensures you get more high quality content than you would if you were shooting all the vids yourself. Just make sure the other videos are related to the topic you focus on, and ensure that your video blog has a consistent theme throughout.

For tips on creating a video blog and monetizing it using your own videos and those from other people, check out the following:

• Using YouTube to become a leader in your blog niche – blogging and social media genius Maki (one of Digg’s top superusers) shares his thoughts on becoming a successful blogger by using a successful Youtube user as a case study.
• Make money with a video blog – superb article on how to make money with a video blog. Step by step advice on setting up your blog, choosing content, and even where to position your ads for maximum click-through.
• DigitalPoint forum on making money with a video blog – forum thread that expands on the above article, including more detailed advice for the budding video blogger.
• More top advice from Maki on making money for a video blog – does exactly what it says on the tin. Maki’s posts are so consistently good, you wonder how he has time to sleep!

Video blogging all by yourself

If you want to be YouTube famous, you’ll need to ensure you’re always in the video somewhere, even if it’s only as a voice over behind the camera. This will only work if you have a loud and engaging personality – no-one wants to see videos of dull people.

Look at Perez Hilton (left), for example. His whole site isn’t just about celebrity gossip, it’s about him and his personality.

If you want to be Internet famous, you need to be able to capture’ people’s attention in a similar way (well, maybe not in quite such a similar way! – there’s only room in this world for one Perez Hilton, surely!)

One way to test this out is to start live blogging yourself on Justin.tv. Here you can experiment with a small audience to begin with, and build it up over time, before branching out with your own video-based Web site around you.

If you don’t have a loud personality, or you don’t want to be Internet famous but like shooting video, then consider live blogging important people or events.

The best example of this type of video blogger is Robert Scoble, who scours the world to get the latest scoops on tech-related subjects, and interviews the people in the industry who matter.

You can live blog trade shows, conferences, launch parties – pretty much anything that people want to see. You can do it to generate traffic to your own blog, or to promote someone else’s for money. Effectively, you become a freelance blogger for someone who pays you to cover important events.

If you think this is for you, check out some of these sites on how to become a live blogger:

• Live blogging best practices (note: the page looks like it was designed in 1994, but don’t let that put you off – it was actually written in 2007!)
• How to do conference blogging – excellent set of tips on how to live blog conferences for your own professional development
• Conference blogging for professional bloggers – from Blog Herald, one of the top Problogging sites on the Web
• How to blog a conference – hardware, software and strategy for live blogging like a pro.
• How to Live Blog a conference – conference blogging tips from the experts
• Beth Kanter – prolific blogger for Blog Her, Beth has covered many live events and givdes some top tips for Live Blogging wannabes
• Live blogging the Web 2.0 way – great set of Web 2.0 sites to help you live blog an event
• Live Blogging the WebWorkerDaily way – loads of live blogging posts from one of the top blogs on the Web
• How to use CoverItLive for Live blogging – review of the live blogging site CoverItLive.com
• ProBlogger’s live blogging tips – tips from the expert himself.
• Free 6 page e-book on live blogging – extremely useful guide to live blogging,plus great links to opther experts
• Confessions of a live blog failure – some of the pitfalls to watch out for when live blogging
• The art of live blogging – does exactly what it says on the tin
• TopRank tips on Live blogging – includes strategies,software and top tips

How to succeed with viral videos

If you’re the creative type and love creating your own videos, then you need to make your video go viral if you want success.

A viral video is one that people like so much, they share it with their friends, who in turn share it with their friends, and so on.

The video literally spreads like an epidemic, gaining you maximum exposure.

Be warned, this is not an easy process, but the rewards can be huge.

Finding the killer hook you need to get your video to go viral is the secret to viral success.

It’s a black art, though, and will require much trial and error, but here are some excellent articles with tips and advice that’ll give you a head start:

• Viral marketing with Lisa Nova’s sexy videos – sex sells, and Lisa Nova (in the video, above) knows it, exploiting this age old marketing trick to perfection. She’s created a series of sexy characters that you can use in your own video clips completely free. Called Lisa Nova collab characters, they can help spice up your clips, while promoting Lisa herself – clever! Emulating Lisa’s strategy is one option, but using Lisa’s video clips yourself in your own clips may be a better option if you have the sex appeal of a moose’s arse.
• The secret strategies behind many viral videos – TechCrunch article into viral video promotion from the head of viral video marketing company The Comotion Group. See also this follow-up article, which clears up a few misundertandings from the original post.
• How to succeeed at YouTube – revealing interview with Andrew Nesbitt, who’s had several videos go viral.
• Forrester research’s interview with WillItBlend.com. Video Website WillItBlend.com has had enormous success with YouTube. Forrester research interview the guys behind the site and come up with some top tips for viral videos.

If you’re still looking for inspiration, check out the deeply ironic vid below on how to make viral video clips!

Custom video creation

If you love creating video and want to be paid for your efforts, consider becoming a freelance video producer. Companies will pay you to create videos to advertise their products or services. You need to be skilled in creating videos to do this, but if you’ve got the talent, head to MediaMobz and sign up as a producer. You can then bid for work producing videos for companies looking for creative individuals to produce advertisements for them.

Note that their homepage implies they only sign up advertisers. This isn’t the case at all – when you start the sign-up process you can select whether you’re offering your services as a producer, or whether you’re a buyer. Check their FAQ for more details.

Summary

Blimey, these posts are getting out of hand! If you’re into making videos for the Web, these links should help you focus on your videos’ theme, monetize them, become a YouTube superstar, and ultimately succeed with online video. If you know of any other great articles for online video success, or just want to share your own tips and advice,feel free to comment below.

Meanwhile, check out my other posts on the best gadgets for online video, and video sites that are even better than YouTube.

And don’t just think YouTube is the only place to upload your video. It might be the obvious place to upload your vids, but there are many video sites that are even better than YouTube.

Web video sites that are better than YouTube

• Vimeo – Like YouTube, but offers higher definition, and has the concept of Projects, in which people work together to work on a video project about
• MetaCafe – YouTube clone
• Blip.tv – Can format your video for a wide array of different players, from iTunes to YouTube, even to mobile phones.
• Veoh – Video aggregator site that lets you upload videos, watch videos from Veoh and YouTube, and even watch TV and videos from the major studios (including Lost).
• Viddler – Another simple YouTube clone
• Revver – Can email videos to your friends and fans, submit video to iTunes, or even create your own .tv site. Also has a powerful API for creating your own video-based applications. Best of all, though, you can install a WordPress plugin that lets you publish, track and manage your video all from your WordPress blog. Revver host the videos, so you don’t need to worry about bandwidth, the video is fully embeddable in any other web site or blog, and all links point back to your site (unlike YouTube, which points back to itself). Revver even allows your audience to submit comments via video.
• Flickr – Yahoo!’s famous image site now supports video as well. The potential audience is huge, but each video is limited to 90 seconds (think of it as Twitter for video)

And you thought the only video site on the Web was YouTube!

Actually, there’s too much choice. Video files are huge, and uploading to one service takes an age, let alone to all 7 (and I still haven’t included sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Ovi, Crackle – you get the idea!)

If you’re a blogger, Revver currently makes the most sense, as it’s so much easier to incorporate into your blog (at least if you’re using WordPress).

However, if you really want to be social media rockstar, you need to be on all of these sites. Luckily there’s one simple way that you can do this without having to upload your video umpteen different times. TubeMogul is a new site that will automatically publish your video on most of the sites I’ve just listed, and give you all the tracking information you need so you can see how many of your fans are watching you. You need only upload your video once to TubeMogul – TubeMogul itself will then publish your video on the other sites for you, saving you time and bandwidth.

Once you’ve uploaded your video to these sites, you can then focus on establishing your personal brand by managing your channels, monitoring how often your videos are viewed, and tracking where over the web your videos are being embedded.

Real time video publishing

The sites listed above all let you publish video that you’ve already recorded. What if you’re at some major event, though, and want to publish video in realtime as it happens? Luckily, the Web’s got the answer for you (as always!)

• Kyte.tv – takes YouTube to the next level. The site looks fantastic, you can create your won Kyte channel (perfect for wannabe rockstars with a dedicated audience), and, best of all, it supports live streaming from your camcorder or mobile phone. If you’re at the scene of something interesting, Kyte.tv will ensure your pictures are relayed in real time to a welcoming world.
• UStream.tv – similar to Kyte, put lets your audience chat over your video as well.
• Qik – designed more for live streaming from a mobile phone, but useful if you don’t have your camcorder with you.

Now I know where to publish – but what videos do I actually shoot?

So now you know what YouTube camera to buy for social media superstardom, and where to publish your works of art. Only thing your need to do know is to work out what to film!

Fortunately for you, you don’t have to wait long – I’ll be posting another article this week that looks at the different types of video to shoot to become a social media rockstar – and even make money from it!

For this series, I’ll look at the best gadgets you can buy to become a social media rockstar.

Whether you want to become a YouTube superstar, a live blogger, create your own personal brand or just become an Internet celebrity, I’ll show you the gadgets you need, where to put your videos and pictures for maximum exposure, and even a few tips on how to earn money with social media.

The first post is all about Web video. Stay tuned over the next few days for posts on social photo sites, live blogging and podcasting your way to success, and even the latest trend in Geo-blogging.

Not what you expect from a gadget blog? Good, we’re not just a gadget blog