Internet Business Daily

Just like Facebook, Myspace, and many other websites, YouTube has officially released a platform API. The new YouTube API allows for deep customization into websites. This strategic move takes one of Google’s most expensive acquisitions a step closer towards being the source for all Internet video. Here are some features of the API:

• Create a web front end to let people view videos about specific topics.
• Create a desktop application or plugin that plays videos in a customized environment.
• Add related, dynamic video content to your website or application.
• Customise the Flash player to fit the look and feel of your site, device or application.
• Add feeds of videos from each of YouTube’s 18 international domains.

I’m split between two features for my favorite. The fact that you can sign in and upload videos to YouTube from any site is amazing. This was a brilliant move on their part. The other cool feature is full customization of YouTube’s player. We no longer have to look at the ugly chrome control panel.

There are still many things I have wanted to see from YouTube, specifically its player. The player itself is missing many key features that various other sites have implemented with no where near the resources of a Google company. Some of these features include: in-video tagging, higher quality video, and hover-over controls. These problems are minor and I am excited to see the creative apps that people make with the YouTube API.