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YouTube videos are becoming an increasingly popular way to generate awareness for causes. Recent natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan and the floods in Pakistan, led to a slew of charitable uploads.

This list picks out 12 of the best, most interesting or just plain popular charity-focused videos on YouTube. Surprisingly, a large portion of our picks are charity singles released by popular artists in support of timely causes.

The charity single phenomenon long predates the video sharing network. In 1979, a group of artists including ABBA, the Bee Gees and Earth Wind & Fire jammed in the U.N. General Assembly Hall as part of The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song. Not only did the perfomance kick off the U.N.’s Year of the Child, a call to protect and support children’s rights, but it started a movement of charity single copycats.

YouTube has created more opportunities for charity singles, but our top videos for social good do more than raise money for their selected campaigns. This list showcases videos that integrate their cause into the viewing experience in the hope of making a greater impact.

Here are the 12 YouTube videos that stand out for their commitment to humanitarian causes. They are ranked according to views, although that alone did not qualify a video for the list. Let us know in the comments what you think of the list, and whether we missed any video or cause that matters to you.

1. “We Are The World,” 25 For Haiti

Cause: We Are The World Foundation

Views: 83,529,900+

Why it does good: Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones launched a foundation for rebuilding Haiti with this remake of Michael Jackson’s famous 1985 single. More than 80 artists collaborated to make this tribute to the island nation. Initially released to aid Ethiopian famine, Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World” raised $63 million.

2. “Oh Africa,” Akon

Cause: Konfidence

Views: 24,260,500+

Why it does good: Akon, a Senegali artist, made this video to benefit Konfidence, his charitable organization. It combines African costume, dance and drumming. Akon highlights positive elements of his rich cultural heritage rather than dwelling on the poverty he’s trying to end.

3. “Wavin’ Flag,” Young Artists For Haiti

Cause: Free the Children, War Child Canada and World Vision Canada

Views: 13,989,900+

Why it does good: This YouTube cover of K’naan’s World Cup 2010 hit “Wavin’ Flag” is a tribute to the victims of the January 2010 earthquake. K’naan, a Somalia native, opens the video by handing off his song to the people of Haiti.

4. “Honk For Japan,” Ryan Higa

Cause: American Red Cross Relief for Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami

Views: 7,048,600+

Why it does good: Ryan Higa calls on his online following of almost 4 million people to help raise money for Japan. The video highlights his creative street campaign: Higa pledged to contribute $10 for every honk and another $600 for every million views.

5. “It Gets Better,” Dan and Terry

Cause: It Gets Better Project

Views: 1,519,400+

Why it does good: Author and columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry recorded this video to let young LGBT youth know that their lives will get better after high school. After sharing their story, It Gets Better became a worldwide movement — everyone from President Barack Obama to pop artist Ke$ha has recorded messages of encouragement to children facing harassment.

6. “You Are Not Alone,” The X Factor

Cause: Great Ormand Street Hospital

Views: 1,016,300+

Why it does good: For the past three seasons, the finalists on this British reality show have recorded a song for a charitable cause. We chose this remake of the Michael Jackson hit since it’s the most viewed of the X Factor’s charity singles.

7. “Earth Day Remix,” Biz Markie

Cause: Repower America

Views: 1,085,400+

Why it does good: Hip hop DJ Biz Markie remixed his hit song “Just a Friend” in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. As funny as the video is, it sends a serious message: We require clean energy.

8. “One Voice,” The Bilz & Kashif

Cause: War Child Canada

Views: 580,000+

Why it does good: This video was inspired by the November 29, 2009 terror attacks in Mumbai. It is an extension of both artists’ campaigns to support children in war-ravaged regions. Their music video is a tribute to the victims of the attack as well as a call to improve the lives of children in regions of ongoing conflict.

9. “Everybody Hurts,” Helping Haiti

Cause: The Disasters Emergency Committee and The Sun‘s Helping Haiti appeal

Views: 412,400+

Why it does good: “Everybody Hurts” is the last of the three star-studded Haiti earthquake relief videos to make this list. The heartfelt video integrates news footage and documentary photography into a cover of REM’s “Everybody Hurts.”

10. “Gracias a La Vida,” Voces Unidas Por Chile

Cause: Habitat for Humanity

Views: 315,500+

Why it does good: Images of the strength of the Chilean people uniting after the February 2010 earthquake alternate with shots of famous Hispanic artists including Juanes, Julieta Venegas and Juan Luis Guerra. The video plays up national solidarity rather than the destruction caused by the quake.

11. “Rise Again, Japan!,” Rise Again Project

Cause: Relief for the earthquake and tsunami in Japan

Views: 297,600+

Why it does good: This video from New York City to the victims of the Japan quake sends a simple message: NYC is here to help Japan rebuild. Celebs Robin Williams and Ice-T, along with fundraisers in Union Square, joined forces in this artfully edited donation campaign that promotes a number of relief organizations.

12. “Hear Your Call,” Sami Yusuf

Cause: Save the Children‘s emergency relief efforts in Pakistan.

Views: 254,800+

Why it does good: Following the floods that left one-fifth of Pakistan under water in August 2010, Yusuf recorded this charity single that combines original composition with photos of the destruction. As an artist who regularly lends his musical talents toward charitable causes, this video makes our list because Yusuf’s success brought attention to a cause that has lagged behind other global relief efforts.

More About: charity, charity singles, music, non-profit, social good, youtube

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Foursquare checkins will now play a role in determining your Klout score.

The San Francisco-based startup has just added Foursquare to its scoring system, which already factors in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to measure the online influence of social media users.

For Klout to integrate your Foursquare checkins into its algorithm, go to your Klout dashboard and click on the grayed-out Foursquare button.

Klout has gained some steam in recent months. It started figuring in users’ LinkedIn activity in June after many users requested LinkedIn integration.

Also in June, Klout unveiled a +K button that allows you to give other users a +K on topics you think they influence. And brands have began offering perks to people with high Klout scores.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Juanmonino

More About: facebook, foursquare, klout, linkedin, social media, twitter

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While many brands are attempting to rack up as many Facebook “Likes” as possible, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese has introduced its own version of the “Like” button: smile tagging.

The brand launched a smile tagging Page on Facebook Tuesday. An icon on the page instructs visitors to “Get the Smile Tagging button” by dragging it to their browser’s bookmarks bar. After that’s installed, if users see anything they like on the web, they can activate the button, which uses their computer’s webcam to take a picture of them smiling.

That picture is then sent to the smile tagging Facebook Page. Users can also share their smiles via their Facebook walls or on Twitter. Anyone who clicks the smile will be taken directly to the page that the user was smiling at. In addition, some sites will have smile tagging, including I Can Has Cheezburger

Ben Huh, CEO of the Cheezburger Network, says the brand tie-in is the biggest his site has done. “Cheezburger is looking to create unique and creative opportunities for brands while making the user experience fun,” he says.

For the Kraft brand, this is the latest in a line of attention-getting social media campaigns conceived with ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The brand and agency teamed up in March for a program that pitted two people who tweeted about “mac & cheese” at the same time against each other to earn prizes. Later that month, the agency created five TV spots within 24 hours based on followers’ tweets. One of the ads ran on TV that night.

Carolyn Clark, associate brand manager for Macaroni & Cheese, says the goal of the campaign is to engage consumers. “There’s an emotional aspect of Macaroni & Cheese,” she says. “It brings joy and happiness, so we’re linking it to other experiences.”

More About: crispin porter + Bogusky, facebook, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, twitter

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Google is launching a new version of Android Market for devices running Android 2.2 and higher. The update will offer book sales and movie rentals.

The market has also been thoroughly revamped to be faster and offer more ways to find content, with more top charts and collections of content such as staff picks and editors’ choice apps. The design of the new market is sleek, but it seems to take a cue from the tile design that adorns Windows Phone 7.

To start with movie rentals, download the free “Videos” app from the Android Market, and you can rent movies (starting at $1.99) from the web or your Android phone or tablet. You can also download movies to your device of choice for offline viewing.

Similarly, you can purchase books directly from your phone or tablet. Both books and video rentals are linked to your Google account, meaning they’ll be instantly available on all the devices you own.

The new market will be rolling out in the following weeks to devices running Android 2.2 and higher. Movie rentals and book sales are currently limited only to U.S. customers, but Google promises to expand it to select countries “soon.”

Check out an introductory video for the new Android Market below.

More About: android, Android Market, book rentals, books, Google, movie sales, Movies

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