Some lesser-known participants in the YouTube Partner Program are about to get a serious leg up when it comes to promoting their channels.  Late yesterday, YouTube introduced a contest-like feature called "On the Rise" which will grant crowd favorites a spot on the homepage.

The YouTube Partner Program has the potential to be about the best thing in a person’s life, allowing an individual to earn thousands of dollars in return for creating short video clips.  Yet lots of folks are still confused about how to become a partner – and why many applications are denied – so YouTube’s giving everyone the chance to get some answers.

It’s no secret that people work harder when given a financial incentive, and that companies also like to make a little money.  Now, the program that YouTube created to capitalize on these facts has turned two years old, and YouTube’s having a little celebration.

YouTube’s Partner Program has, as a general rule, allowed in only content creators who produce original and heavily viewed clips on a consistent basis.  This was a smart and safe approach.  But it’s an approach that also excluded a lot of very popular one-off videos, and YouTube’s now seeking to correct the problem.

Those credit card commercials aren’t lying; the best things in life tend not to connect directly to money.  Something that gives out cash can qualify as "darn good," though, and people in Spain and Brazil should be happy to hear that the YouTube Partner Program has spread to their countries.

In many ways, money is YouTube’s main problem.  YouTube can’t make it, Viacom wants it, and most users don’t receive it.  But that third issue should soon cease to apply to at least a few folks in Germany and France.