Why YouTube Capture Raises the Bar [VIDEO]

YouTube, already a giant in the content game, is laying the path for the next wave of the video explosion. Enter: YouTube Capture, the latest smartphone application released from Google that allows for a smoother, more seamless way for people to shoot, edit and publish high-quality video from their smartphones.

The app includes a “landscape lock,” which offers the option to keep the screen oriented sideways for better recording, and automatic enhancement for color correction and stabilization.

“If I’m at a press conference or sporting event or anywhere else that could produce an important or interesting piece of video, uploading quickly from my smartphone to YouTube would make the platform even more viable,” said Will Brinson, senior NFL blogger for CBSSports.com. That’s what YouTube Capture aims to do, offering an easy way to both record and upload videos.

Already, Brinson said, “adding a video or GIF inside of a story almost always helps to tell a story better and make longer stories more digestible for readers. “Video is “the content of now,” he said, but added that the challenge is “trying to determine the best way to package it going forward.”

JJ Zachariason, author of The Late Round Quarterback and fantasy football blogger at LateRoundQB.com, said video is already an essential blogging tool, as long as the quality is high enough.

“I think good content is always the future of content,” he said. “If you create something your target market wants to see — whether it’s through words, imagery or video — you’re bound to see a positive reaction to that content. Videos are certainly easily digestible, but you need to know your target audience before concluding a specific media is the right approach for your brand.”

Howard Schlossberg, professor of journalism at Columbia College Chicago, said he is “still waiting for the video produced by a print reporter that knocks me off my chair.” Still, he noted, “Video is all the rage, and we all have to adjust.”

The video wave has been something of a blessing to the content creators, editors, and aggregators of the world. The birth of YouTube Capture and the popularity of Vine — the app that allows touch-screen smartphone users to create short videos and GIFs for social sharing — is an indication that people are interested in new ways to integrate video production with the growing population of smartphone owners.