Tip for Sharing YouTube Videos

To share a YouTube video on Botl, just follow these three easy steps:

1. Click the SHARE button under the video’s title.

2. YouTube will display several share options, including a URL/share link.  If the playlist box is checked, be sure to uncheck it. Otherwise, there will be a problem with the botl’s shelf display.

3. After you have unchecked the playlist box, a shorter URL/share link will appear in that field and you should no longer see ?list= anywhere in the link.  Do a right-mouse click to copy the link.  (If that does not capture the whole link, then do a left-mouse click at the beginning of the link and drag your cursor across the entire link. Then after the link has been highlighted, do a right-mouse click to copy it.) Also, remember that you always have the option of selecting the start time for videos by checking the Start box and entering the desired start time in minutes and seconds.

A preview of your selected video will appear after you have pasted the YouTube URL/share link into the botlr and clicked the preview button. Add a title and tags, and click Botl It! to complete your botl.

BotlKing Takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The  ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge” is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone’s head to promote awareness of  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) and encourage donations to ALS research.

The challenge has become a media sensation, resulting in millions of video posts on Facebook and Twitter since July 29, 2014.  Most importantly, the viral phenomenon has raised over $94 million dollars for ALS research in the four weeks since that date!

The rules are simple: After a person has been challenged, he has 24 hours to accept the challenge, which requires them to make continuous video of him picking up a bucket of ice water and pouring it on his head, or having someone else pour it over him.  After completing the challenge, he can then call out names of others to issue the challenge to them, continuing the chain.  

A person can donate $100 to the ALS Association in lieu of taking the challenge. If they accept the challenge and complete it, they are encouraged to make a $10 donation. The donations are encouraged but not required.

BotlKing’s video response introduces a little playful variety from the typical Ice Bucket Challenge video; namely, it incorporates the popular “Keep Calm” and “Expectation vs. Reality” memes, and it issues a new challenge to Team Takei, the group of folks — including Brad Takei — who work with George Takei on his popular fan pages.

To open the botl, click anywhere on the shelf display or click here.

 

How to Put a Vine Video into a Botl

Vine videos — or “vines” — are six-second, looped videos.

Botl users can bottle and share Vine videos by using the embed code provided for each vine. In a sense, vines are much like animated GIFs paired with sound effects or a ringtone. Vine videos can add great variety to your botl collection!

To view a sample botl containing a vine, click on the paw-print bottle sitting on the shelf to the right…and enjoy a BIG cat splashing around in a little pool! (Note: If audio is muted when viewing vines, click on the little speaker icon in the top left corner of the video display to unmute audio.)

It’s quick and easy to upload a vine into the botlr, so let’s go through the process step-by-step.

STEP 1: Log in to Vine and find the video you would like to share. Vine has a great search engine, so you can search by keyword, or you can click on one of Vine’s great channel options. 

STEP 2: When you have located the desired video, click on the elipses — the three dots — in the bottom right corner under the video display. Click on the word Embed. 

STEP 3: A panel will open, displaying the video’s embed code.  Click the toggle to select Audio autoplay ON. Left-mouse click inside the box containing the embed code, which will highlight the code.  Right-mouse click to copy the embed code.

STEP 4: Open the botlr and click the Video button. Botl supports video from SocialCam, Viddy, Vimeo, Vine and YouTube. Click on the circle to the left of Vine, which will open a field for the embed code.  Left-mouse click inside that field to put your cursor there, and then right-mouse click to paste in the embed code you just copied. Next, click the Preview button to finish uploading the Vine video and to see that you’ve uploaded the correct one.

Note the little speaker with an X in the top left corner of the Vine video preview. By default, audio is muted in Vine videos, so if the vine’s audio is muted when you open a botl, simply click on that X to unmute the audio.

STEP 5: Complete the botl as usual, adding a title and, if desired, a text message and tags. Then click Botl It! and your botl will be distributed to your followers and added to your personal botl collection.

TIP: Add “vine” as a tag in the botls you make containing Vine videos so Botl users who search for Vines by keyword or tag will find your botl!

For the video tutorial How to Put a Vine Video in a Botl, click here.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at don@botl.com.