Category & Subcategory Changing on 5/6/2009

What's changing and why?

As part of ongoing efforts to make it easier for our users to discover new and exciting live content, we're changing some of our category and subcategories. Highlights of the changes include:

• Categories have been consolidated so that they can all show on the front page
• There are no more repeat or vague subcategories
• Smaller subcategories have been consolidated
• Unused subcategories have been removed

What are the new categories?

Most of these categories will seem familiar:

What does this mean for broadcasters?

To make this change as seamless as possible for our broadcasters, we'll automatically mapped a channel's previous category and subcategory to the best match in the new system. So broadcasters don't need to do a thing! Curious what your new category/subcategory will be? You can find a comprehensive list of changes here.

How can I change my category/subcategory if it is miscategorized in the new system?

It's easy to edit your category and subcategory. Just follow the steps listed here.

Justin.tv is a Webware 100 Finalist!

Reminder!

Voting closes on 4/30/09, that is only two days away! Don't forget to vote for us!

Justin.tv has made it as an editor selected finalist for the 2009 Webware 100 Awards. We're very excited about this (the third year in a row we've made it), and would like to ask our entire community to go out and vote for us here. Help show the world how much you love Justin.tv!

Another chance to win an iPod Nano!

Starting today through June 27th, we're running another contest to give you a chance to win an iPod Nano!

If you haven't seen Headlines yet, you should really check it out! Headlines is the community driven source of the coolest and most interesting things happening around Justin.tv!

We're having a drawing this month for the top headline writer to win a chance at an iPod nano!

Rules:

1. The story must be written by you and not plagiarized from another source (we will be checking)
2. The story must fall under the categories: Funny, Newsworthy, or Human Interest
3. The story must be grammatically correct

Note:

Remember not every story that is submitted gets published so don't be offended if yours doesn't make it, just find another idea and submit a new story! Also we will only award this prize once per person; if someone wins multiple times, we may come up with additional prizes. Good luck!

For additional information on Headlines, you can read about it here: http://www.justin.tv/p/about_headlines

Default to Widescreen Mode

We just released the option to allow channels to default to Widescreen mode on Justin.tv. Channel owners can now select that option on the settings page. Broadcast in higher resolutions to make the most of this!

High Quality on Justin.tv

Recently broadcasters have been raising the bar for quality broadcasting on Justin.tv. With higher quality broadcasts appearing more and more, we decided that it was finally time to recognize some of the broadcasters who create the best viewer experiences. Starting today, an HQ badge will appear in the corner of your picture on the directory and search if you broadcast using our Best broadcaster (VP6) at 700 kbps or better, or with Quicktime or FME (h.264) at 600 kbps or better. We expect this will easily let viewers know at a glance where to find the best quality broadcasts from the directory.

Read more here.

JTV Integrates with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter!

Good news everybody! We've added support for Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and now you can log in through your social media accounts, push status updates about what you're watching back to these sites!

All channel pages on Justin.tv now include four tabs across the top of the chat window: Chat, Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. In addition to chatting with other Justin.tv users through the Chat tab, users can click on the other tabs at any time to activate the integration features, which are detailed below:

Facebook
After clicking on the Facebook tab at the top of the chat window, users can log in and update their status message about the content they are viewing. Users can then chat with all Facebook users on this channel, or, by clicking the “Friends” tab, they can chat with only their Facebook friends. Chat messages will update in real time, but will not update a user’s Facebook status.

Twitter
After clicking on the Twitter tab at the top of the chat window, users can log in and update their Twitter status about the content they are viewing. By clicking on the "Following" tab, users can filter just the messages from those Twitter users they are following. Hash tags for Justin.tv and the channel will be appended to every Twitter status update. These updates will appear in aggregate on Twitter by going to search.twitter.com and searching for "#jtv or #[channelname]."

MySpace
After clicking on the MySpace tab at the top of the chat window, users will be prompted to sign in and update their MySpace status. Users can then engage in real-time chat with other MySpace users who are viewing the same content. Chat messages will update in real time, but will not update a user’s MySpace status.

For complete, step-by-step directions on how to sign in and use Justin.tv’s integrated services, please visit: http://www.justin.tv/p/integration.

Exciting opportunity with Justin.tv and Reality Wanted

Ever thought of taking your broadcasting to the next level? RealityWanted and Justin.tv are offering a new way to apply to be on Big Brother. One lucky Justin.tv applicant will win a semi-formal interview with a Big Brother casting producer.

To apply, you'll need to: 1) set up an account on RealityWanted, 2) create a video clip on Justin.tv, and 3) embed it into your video section on RealityWanted.

You can read Big Brother Casting Tips from Robyn Kass of Kassting Inc and get a feel for what you can do to make your application clip the best!

Contest Info:

**Applicants can apply to be a contestant on Realitywanted.com and a member with the most votes will have an opportunity to be interviewed by a casting producer. At least one of the top 10 voted applicants that apply to Big Brother 11 on RealityWanted.com and meet the eligibility requirements will be given the opportunity for a semi formal interview with the casting producer. No purchase necessary**