YouTube is introducing machine-generated automatic captioning to YouTube. The captions can also be translated. This obviously has incredible implications for the hearing-impaired and language translation. But it also has great implications for search.

Automatic captions will be generated using Google’s automated speech recognition (ASR) technology and the same voice recognition algorithms used in Google Voice.

Additionally, auto-timing is being introduced. If you provide all the words in the video, Google will automatically time the captioning for you.

Of course, having what essentially amounts to transcripts for online video means that the text can be crawled and indexed and then yes – SEARCHED. Bring on the keyword research and seo scriptwriting for online videos!

Google put together a video on how to access the automatic captioning and auto-timing features:

For the past few days, I’ve outlined the sessions at Search Engine Strategies New York that should appeal to newbies and veterans next week. But at its core, the event remains the premier SEO conference that was launched a decade ago. And there will be plenty of content at SES New York 2009 for budding search engine optimization specialists and experienced SEO consultants to see and hear.

Here are some samples of the sessions and workshops that should appear to search engine optimizers:

Monday, March 23

8:00am-12:00pm — How to Create a Successful In-House SEO Program

1:00pm-5:00pm — Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Workshop

Tuesday, March 24

10:30am-11:30am — SEO: Where to Next

11:45am-12:45pm — Key Points in Launching a Global Website

1:45pm-2:45pm — Beyond Googling: Where Will Your Customers Be Searching in Five Years?

3:00pm-4:00pm — Universal and Blended Search: An Update

4:30pm-5:30pm — Video Search Engine Optimization: 2009 and Beyond

Wednesday, March 25

9:00am-10:15am — Discover the Power of Linking: Link Building Basics

10:45am-12:00pm — Keywords & Content: Search Marketing Foundations

1:00pm-2:00pm — The State of Search – A Maturing Marketplace or Poised for More Growth?

2:15pm-3:30pm — Turning Simple Change into Big Profit

4:00pm-5:15pm — Google Workshop: Maximizing Your Website’s ROI

Thursday, March 26

10:30am-11:45am — SEO Through Blogs & Feeds

12:45pm-2:00pm — SEO Tools of the Trade: What’s in YOUR Toolbox?

2:15pm-3:30pm — Google Website Optimizer: Radically Improve your Conversion Rate!

3:45pm-5:00pm — The Importance of Usability and Accessibility in Search

Friday, March 27

8:30am-5:30pm — SEO Training Course in partnership withBruce Clay.

To figure out which conference package is right for you, click on the rates and registration details.

Or, if you want a sample of the things you will learn from the experts at SES New York 2009, check out my interview with Rand Fishkin, the CEO of SEOMoz, below. I interviewed Rand about the future of SEO at SES London 2009 last month.

Rand Fishkin, SEOMoz, on the future of SEO in 2009

Get it? Got it? Good.