YouTube is starting to make higher-definition streams available on certain videos. This is a long awaited across-the-board improvement available on all YouTube accounts. It’s definitely not true High Definition, but it’s a step in the right direction. Especially compared to the typical grainy YouTube video.

How do you make your higher quality videos available?

Right now these high quality streams are only available on “certain videos,” as YouTube states on the official YouTube blog. It’s based on the source file you uploaded to YouTube.

How do you watch higher quality videos?

On your Account page you’re now able to choose “always show me higher quality when available.” To change your settings go to your Account Home Page >> Account >> Video Playback Quality.

YouTube suggests that you select “always show me…” only if you have a fast Internet connection, otherwise you might find that videos don’t play as quickly or smoothly as you’re used to. Higher quality videos also have a link right below the video player which will allow you to select between the normal or higher quality settings.

Like all videos on YouTube, higher-definition videos can’t be longer than 10 minutes in length. Max file sizes have been bumped up to 1 GB though.

Go Red…

Oh, and while we’re talking about YouTube — China is blocking YouTube after they posted videos showing the recent protests in Tibet.

Yeah!!! Communism shows it’s true colors again. Killing people, and then shutting down any media source that reveals it. At least they make it clear why red is their color.

A new application on Facebook, called Market Lodge will pay users a 10% commission on sales made on their recommendations. And vendors can submit products for approval, so long as they’re willing to cough up a 35% commission on each product sale.

Market Lodge is the brainchild of a startup called bSocial Networks. They’re betting that Facebook users will like the idea of helping merchants sell to their friends. I’m betting it’ll open the doors to a flood of fledgling Marketplace Molesters.

Here’s how you can make sure you don’t become one of them.

If you’re going to test Market Lodge, keep two things in mind

Facebook hasn’t been a friendly place for profit since opening it’s door to developers. I’ve never seen more useless widgets for fun and games in one place than what you’ll find after 12-months of “open door development” on Facebook.

And while Market Lodge is a step in the right direction, the way I see it, it’s got two challenges:

1. Facebook tried to capitalize on membership connections last year by introducing a marketing system that allowed friends to broadcast product endorsements to each other.

That’s been a dud. Mostly because Facebook’s users revolted when they realized there was a feature called “Beacon.” That little devil tracked and shared information about their purchases and other actions made on other Web sites. Users’ are now allowed to turn off Beacon, but it’s still a dud.

2. Online social networks as a whole have had trouble generating big profits from advertising. Even powerhouse Google Inc. has admitted that they haven’t found the right marketing mix partnering with News Corp.’s MySpace.com.

In both cases the problem is rooted in an old-school marketing mindset and interruption-style of communication. Understand this, apply the C.H.A.R.M. Formula of Tribal Seduction, and you’ll be ahead of the pack out of the gate.

Market Lodge is a good idea, but…

It actually makes it easier for regular Joe’s and Jane’s to make money making recommendations. But that’s where the danger lies.

“Average” people don’t know how to market or sell without Molesting friends and family. (Doubt me? Just think of a friend who’s all fired up about the new MLM they joined.)

Hell, most people who call themselves marketers or sales professionals don’t know how to do that. Even fewer know how to seduce.

Affiliates — keep it low key

So if you plan on becoming an affiliate with Market Lodge, keep it low key. Treat your recommendations relevant to topical conversations you engage in.

Unless you have a really strong personal brand that attracts a “clean” list of friends — stay away from network-wide promotional messages. And even if you’ve got that highly focused network of friends, take the time to create some good (connection-based) content as a mass message, and strategically inject a relevant recommendation.

Vendors — give it a shot

If you’re a vendor, you can request that bSocial add your product to their line up. The vendor registration process is ridiculously simple (which to me implies that you may not hear back from them if they don’t like your product.) You can learn more about becoming a Market Lodge vendor here.

If you’ve used Market Lodge, share what your experiences have been. And if you give it a try (either as an affiliate or vendor) come back and share your experience.

Play Now:

 Flip Video test: New Media Marketing Tool: Play Now | Play in Popup

This is high-resolution 55mb video above and takes a while to load. You can read while it loads or watch it on Revver down below.

Using video to bond with your Tribe in your New Media Marketing will boost emotional bonding.

If you’ve been shying away from using it because you think capturing video needs to be complex or costly — this is going to rock your world and remove any fear. And even if you’re more experienced at filming with an expensive HD camera, you’ll see why this is a “must have tool” for you too!

When it comes to capturing video for New Media Marketing, there’s a new king on the block for simplicity. It’s called the Flip Video recorder. This tiny little recorder (it’s the size of a pack of cards,) holds 60-minutes of digital video. Quality is more than sufficient for Web use, and it even looks good on a regular TV too.

We’ve been testing the new Flip Video in “normal” filming situations. But we wanted to really put it to the test and see how quickly it would adapt to rapid light changes and high speed movement.

As you’ll see from the video, the Flip Video does not disappoint here either. The online trans-coding on YouTube does it no justice, Revver is better.

But above in raw format, and even on Revver down below, you can see that it did as good a job at color and light adjustment under demanding situations. Surprisingly as good as our $2,000 Sony HD camera! You can really see the lush greens of the mountains and deep blues of the ocean even at high speed.

Flip Video is one of the best “bang for your buck” purchases you can make. At around $150 online, Flip Video is a “must have” tool for anyone serious about New Media Marketing.

How could you boost your Tribal Seduction and New Media Marketing with a Flip video Recorder? And if you’ve already got a Flip Video, what are you doing with it to have fun and bond with your Tribe?

Drop us a quick note below and share your ideas.