YouTube All Set to Expand Reach

YouTube seems to have had enough of its share of daily traffic, so much so that it has actually decided to share it with other sites: the Google-owned site has released a suite of tools and features that will allow developers to fully integrate YouTube into their own sites and applications.

Earlier, developers were only able to embed and stream the videos onto their sites. They will now be able to customize the player, meaning they'll be able to control what the videos look like. Owners of sites were unable to play videos they had created, or to send comments to YouTube about what they'd watched -- that too, has now changed.
With this development, YouTube has become an open, general-purpose video services platform, available for use by just about any third-party Web site, desktop application, or consumer device. For users, this means they will now be able to stream videos, search the YouTube gallery, and upload, share, comment upon, and rate videos -- all without leaving the Web site they're at. This means an expanded YouTube; this means it's now easier to share your videos.

They've made it possible to access YouTube from anywhere, but Google still says it's about user experience and not about monetization.
Developers taking advantage of this opportunity will get a bonus in the form of access to YouTube's extremely large user base spread across the globe. Some companies already working along these lines include Electronic Arts (EA), Casio, and Logitech.

EA has enabled gamers to capture videos of user-generated creatures from their upcoming game, 'Spore', and publish them directly onto YouTube. TiVo will also allow users to access and upload YouTube videos from their TV sets. Casio and Logitech are creating cameras that will allow uploads directly to the site.