YouTube, like many other forms of visual media, is experimenting with high-definition broadcasts. Presented in an expanded 480×260 format, the new option boasts a clearer picture and a better overall presentation. While users have been able to create videos in the new HD format for a little while now, actually watching them in said format is a rather recent development. Many within the industry believe the change is due to the popularity of Hulu, which features an overall bigger video player. In order to activate YouTube HD, users must add “&fmt=22“ to the end of the video. YouTube HD is available now to anyone who “knows the code,” as they say.

Elsewhere, Yahoo has decided to bring their “Glue” service to the US. Originally launched last May in India, Yahoo Glue is a new search strategy designed to bring users everything that relates to a specific search, not just traditional webpages. The results appear in a two column design and are organized by content type. The US version of Glue differs from the original Indian version not just in layout (the original was presented in a three column format), but in the actual results as well. Unlike the original, the US version eschews listing the “traditional” search engine findings altogether. Those close to Yahoo say that Glue is designed to augment traditional searches, not replace them entirely. Yahoo Glue is available now, albeit in “limited form,” to users in the US and India.

In other search engine news, Google has added a bit of social functionality to their base search engine. As you might have noticed, each result now has a few new “buttons” attached. These buttons allow you to move (or remove) results at will, as well as writing a few comments about it. “This new feature is an example of how search is becoming increasingly dynamic,” writes Product Manager Cedric Dupont. “[The new service gives] people tools that make search even more useful to them in their daily lives.” While the rearranging of search result might be new to Google, it’s considered to be old hat to others. Many search engines, most notably Wikia Search, have used tools such as this for years.

In less happy Google news, the company has officially done away with its experimental social platform Lively. Part Second Life and part Yahoo Chat, Lively was designed to bridge the gap between the new and the old. The service was also unique in the fact that users were able to embed the Lively modules into their respective sites. “Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it’s the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people’s lives,” said the Lively team on the Official Google Blog. “But we’ve also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off. ” Lively is set to close its virtual doors at the end of December.

Finally: Noah Belson of the Yahoo Search Marketing Blog has a few helpful hints for online businesses dreading “Cyber Monday.” For those unaware, Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year; kind of the high-tech version of the traditional Black Friday. “40% of shoppers say that sales or promotions are the most important factors when determining where to shop for holiday gifts,” he writes. “There’s still plenty of time to get your campaigns in shape before Cyber Monday and keep them that way for the remainder of the holiday shopping season.” According to Belson, it all comes down to four tips:

1. Make sure that the consumer knows what the specials are.
2. Prominently feature lower priced items when possible.
3. Always include special features like free shipping your advertising.
4. Play up the old “it’s better than going to the mall…” argument.

Do that, he says, and it should be smooth sailing through calm seas. “With a clear holiday plan that includes strongly crafted ads, Cyber Monday could lead to a lot of happy Tuesdays, and a pretty festive holiday season in general for your company.”