YouTube Blogging in 2009

Following the tradition of our Google brethren,we'd like to share our blog highlights and thank you, our loyal blog readers, for making this the most successful year ever for the YouTube blog.

This is our 284th post of the year, which is 13% more than in 2008. In addition to more posts, we have more readers now -- 79% more, to be exact. The number of unique visitors jumped from 7.7 million last year to 13.7 million in 2009.

We posted about new products, the evolution of our social features, a slew of live streamed events and much more, but what generated the most buzz was What You Watched and Searched for on YouTube in 2009, a listing of the year's Most Watched videos and fastest-rising search terms, and announcements regarding the launches of 1080p and Shows & Movies. New Channels Coming Soon, another much-read item, topped our record for number of comments on any YouTube blog post -- over 50K.

We introduced several new series this year, including Release Notes, a periodic rundown of changes to the site; Curator showcases, highlighting people with a knack for finding great videos; and Video Volunteers, which is about mobilizing the talents of the YouTube community to help those in need. We used the blog to showcase your impressive achievements -- things like raising money to build wells in Africa, launching a label for YouTube musicians, and the historical milestone of the first user hitting 1 million subscribers -- as well as shed light on how YouTube is being used as a tool for free expression in Iran.. We took you behind the scenes to offer insight into the thought that goes into product development here, and we shared some stats that were hard even for us to wrap our heads around. Maybe we did a little trash talking, too.

We also launched three new blogs this year: the Biz Blog for partners and advertisers, a Spanish-language blog, and the Creator's Corner blog for anyone who makes videos. And we finally moved onto to the Blogger platform, bringing us into the 21st century when it comes to blog technology.

Whew. It was a busy year but we wouldn't have it any other way. Have a very happy New Year, thanks for reading, and see you in 2010!

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched "Bacon Candy Party Sticks."