And the results are in! Hundreds of thousands votes were cast during the week-long voting process, and 12 videos emerged victorious in their respective categories. Head over here to see the winners or click here to review all the nominees, which were largely defined as the videos you favorited to watch again and again, that generated the most discussion or views, and/or made some kind of societal impact.

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. Though YouTube did not even exist when American missiles first struck Baghdad five years ago today, it has since been used by hundreds of thousands of people to document, discuss, and debate the most controversial war of this century. U.S. soldiers have used YouTube in unique ways. Some have filmed holiday greetings to send back home to family members. Others have documented what life is like on the ground ,

Film schools have helped produce some of the greatest filmmakers of all time - Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, to name a few. But, in many ways, they've also been restricted to a select few. Which is why I'm pleased to report that today marks the start of a partnership between YouTube and the Vancouver Film School to make film school accessible to up-and-coming filmmakers all over the world! Aspiring directors, actors, animators,

You may have noticed that we're now giving you the option of watching some YouTube videos in higher quality . We're making these streams available on certain videos, based upon the source file uploaded to us, and over time you'll find a greater percentage of the library is available to view in higher quality. This feature applies to all eligible videos uploaded from the YouTube community, and is not restricted to partner content, so everyone can enjoy this upgrade.

In 2007, we witnessed an explosion of ideas and creativity on YouTube. You showed us that online video is not just a way to share pet and baby videos )though it is certainly good for that, too(, but rather it can be so much more: a showcase for aspiring artists, a megaphone for everyday people, a way to learn new skills and even to change the political process. In recognition of all of these vibrant uses of and communities on YouTube,

We try really hard to make YouTube as open as possible. Anyone can upload and view videos, which can be embedded anywhere and viewed on all kinds of different devices. And, of course, anyone can participate in our community by commenting on videos, rating them, and sharing them with friends. Nevertheless, we worried that we weren't open enough. So, we pulled some all-nighters and added some powerful new ways to integrate YouTube content and community into other websites,

Presidential elections were held in Spain this weekend, with Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero's winning re-election after a fierce race with conservative opponent Mariano Rajoy. We're proud to have played a role in this political process with our Elecciones '08 initiative, a partnership between YouTube and Radio Television Española )RTVE(, Spain's public broadcasting channel. Over 600 video questions for the candidates were submitted here, including these highlights: In all,

For the next week and a half, the SXSW festival is taking over Austin, Texas, to celebrate music, film and all things interactive. If you think a few of the shorts in the SXSW line-up sound familiar, that's because they do - YouTube features My First Crush , Knock Knock , The Golden Egg and Spider all made it to the big screen, so congratulate your fellow YouTube filmmakers! And to stay up-to-date with the music program here in the Land of Dee-licious BBQ,

We are thrilled to let the shy and beguiling Icelandic post-rock quartet Sigur Ros take over our home page with a full, 97-minute presentation of their DVD Heima , along with 10 videos created by their fans out of unused footage from the film. What is this otherworldly road trip? Heima documents Sigur Ros' 2006 free tour of Iceland and it's their first-ever concert film. With the shows announced only by word-of-mouth, the band ended up performing in deserted fish factories,

It's March and, on the travel front, that can mean only one thing: sojourners, beware. In these waters, there be Spring Breakers. For the next month, many of the Western hemisphere's finest vacation destinations will be inundated with legions of sun-worshipping students hellbent on having the most unforgettable week of their young lives. And, yes, the irony that much of that week will actually be forgotten is not lost on us here at YouTube. Unfortunately,

The race for the White House continues today as Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont hold their presidential primaries. All eyes are on the Democratic primaries in Ohio and Texas as Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton face off for crucial votes that could determine which candidate gets the nomination. Will today's primaries seal the deal for Senator Obama,

As the 2008 presidential primary election continues to winnow the Republican and Democratic field, our You Choose '08 platform has expanded to include more election content for you to watch. Not only do we have videos from the candidates' YouTube channels, but we also have more content from news organizations, bloggers and, of course, you. Check out the redesign here .

The following features are now appearing on YouTube. Check out the goods... CHARACTER COUNTER FOR VIDEO COMMENTS The visual counter lets you know exactly how many characters you have left before approaching the limit. Now you will always know how many words you can fit in before hitting 'submit'. CONTEXTUAL HELP IN MY ACCOUNT You'll notice some new help icons next to features on your account .

We mentioned the upcoming limited release of a New Experimental Personalized Homepage on our blog a few days ago. As of today, the page is now available to a small, randomly selected group of users. But even if you're not in this group, you can still give it a whirl. You only need to login to your YouTube account and click this link to opt in to the experiment. We want to know what you think about this new personalized YouTube experience.

If you've been following the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, you've probably heard a lot of talk about super delegates. But what exactly are they? And just how might they affect who gets the Democratic nomination? Listen to Ari Berman explain on The Nation's YouTube channel : YouTubers are weighing in on the validity of super delegates and how they should vote. In this video ,

With winds clocked at 60 mph on Pier 39 and rain pouring off and on )mostly on(, the weather was hardly ideal for the As One user gathering last Saturday, February 23. The precipitation couldn't put a damper on spirits, though, as approximately 200 'Tubers braced against the storm and embraced their friends from YouTube. To make the occasion extra memorable, Mr. Safety , the organizer of the event, arranged a free cruise around the bay.

Something we chat a lot about here at YouTube are ways to make it even easier to discover great videos that you'll find interesting. That's why, in the coming days, we'll make an experimental version of a new YouTube homepage available to a small group of users chosen at random. If you're not in the initial group that tests the experimental homepage, but want to give it a whirl, you'll be able to in the near future. We'll post another blog with a link to give everyone access.

There's no question that technology has democratized film production and distribution. But it's time to turn a handful of success stories ) Four Eyed Monsters , M dot Strange , Lance Weiler and Robert Greenwald are a few examples( into hundreds, thousands, and eventually, millions of examples of filmmakers using technology to reach new audiences. The From Here to Awesome Film Festival , brought to you by some of the talent mentioned above,

Calling all comedy troupes, sketch commandos and improv teams - Sketchies is back! Our sketch comedy contest blew up big in 2007, and Sketchies II promises to be even better, with a new creative challenge on the table and a stack of cash to be won. This year's winner will take home $25,000 in cash and $15,000 in video production gear. You can check out all the details of this year's contest on our Sketchies II channel page: how to enter,

This weekend, the 58th annual Berlin International Film Festival wraps up and, with it, the sixth annual Berlinale Talent Campus , a summit for 350 young filmmakers to attend lectures, classes and panel discussions and to work on their own projects in hands-on workshops. For the second year, the Talent Campus also featured a special program called the Garage Studio,