Filed under: Internet, Video, Google
YouTube rolling out embedded players with AdSense
You didn't really think Google paid $1.65 billion for YouTube without hopes of making some money on the site, did you? While attempts to insert ads directly into YouTube videos have been met with lukewarm reactions at best, the company hasn't given up on the idea of making money off of online video.The latest strategy appears to be inserting AdSense text-based advertising into the video player. You won't see any graphics pop up and block the video you're watching, and you won't be asked to pause your video to watch another video. Instead, you'll just see relevant text ads above your video.
Web publishers will be able to sign up for categories of YouTube videos or allow Google to deliver videos directly to your site based on your content. You'll be able to customize your video player, but we don't know if that means you'll be able to change the color or do more advanced tweaking. While YouTube says you can get started by signing up for an AdSense account, there doesn't appear to be a way for AdSense publishers to choose a YouTube video ad format yet. Either this service hasn't begun to roll out yet, or it's only available to a limited user base right now.
[via ProBlogger]
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...