Making a MPG File
Loading a MPG File onto YouTube

Now that you have your MPG file, it's time to load it onto YouTube. Note that YouTube does have a private option - you don't have to make your video live for the entire world. You can keep it protected so that only your family and friends can get to it.

Start by going to the YouTube Website. Register there to create an account. They require an email address verification so make sure your email is working for you to verify the account. It is quick and easy to create an account, but it does require that email step. Choose a name that is meaningful for you. For example for my origami videos associated with my LisaShea.com website, I used the name LisaSheaOrigami.

Once your account is created, there's a big button in the top right to upload a new video. They try to make this easy! Note that YouTube restrictions are that the video is only 10 minutes long or 100mb in size total. If your video is longer than that, cut it up into pieces using the crop tool.

Give your video a meaningful title, description and key word list. This is how people will find your video. If your video is of Niagara Falls, don't name it "neat water!" It won't be found. Name it something like Niagara Falls Waterfall in Summer. The more descriptive and meaningful you are, the more people will find it and enjoy it.

Now comes the long part. You will have a button to browse your system and find the MPG video. It can easily take 10 minutes or more, depending on your connection speed, to upload the video. Start it going and then get a glass of wine or something to relax. Read your mail. Do a little surfing. When the connection is done, you'll get a summary page with the details of the video. This will include a direct link to the video that you can mail out to family and friends!

Note that your video does NOT go live immediately. A human being at YouTube will preview it to ensure it doesn't have porn or other outrageous material in it. It only takes 10-15 minutes before it's in the system, enjoyed by others.

How to Make a YouTube Video
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