If yous want to watch a video, chances are you become to YouTube. It hosts movies, trailers, live streams, vlogs, music videos, news, and much more than. YouTube is synonymous with video watching and sharing and now pulls in billions of acquirement every twelvemonth for owners Google.

Of course, none of its three creators could have quite predicted the success that YouTube has seen. So, allow'due south explore YouTube's roots and check out the commencement YouTube video.

When Did YouTube Start?

YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim on February 14, 2005. The trio met while working at PayPal, a company which found success after existence bought by eBay.

Supposedly, the thought for YouTube as a video sharing service came from the Super Bowl controversy when Janet Jackson's chest was exposed, and Karim couldn't notice the clip online.

According to Hurley and Chen, the original concept of YouTube was as an online dating service. They took to Craigslist to ask women to upload videos of themselves to YouTube in exchange for $100. They struggled to go enough videos, so pivoted YouTube to accept whatever videos.

In May 2005, the site launched in a public beta. By November, a Nike advert starring Ronaldinho became the first to claim one meg views. In Dec 2005, the site officially launched, at which point it had eight million daily views. By July 2006, more than 65,000 videos were uploaded every twenty-four hour period.

YouTube wasn't the beginning video sharing website (Vimeo launched in November 2004), merely it was certainly the showtime to popularize easy uploading and sharing. Its popularity was boosted through viral comedy videos, similar that from homegrown talent Smosh and unauthorized uploads of Saturday Night Live's The Lonely Island.

In Nov 2006, Google acquired YouTube for $i.65 billion in YouTube stock. From there, YouTube has changed rapidly: multiple new interfaces, back up for college resolution videos, changes in direction, pushing monetization, and more.

That said, in some means the YouTube of today is much like the one in 2005. The cadre construction remains unchanged. Anyone can upload videos to their channel, comment on other videos, and share them with friends.

What Was the First YouTube Video?

The first YouTube video is "Me at the zoo" and was uploaded on April 23, 2005 past co-founder Jared Karim when he was 25 years old. The video runs for less than 20 seconds and features Karim in front end of some elephants at the San Diego Zoo, commenting on how cool their long trunks are.

The video has over 218 million views and remains the only video on Karim'southward YouTube channel.

"Me at the zoo" is aught special—it's depression resolution and states the obvious about elephants—but it set the tone for the homemade and inconsequential uploads that defined the early years of YouTube. It was a time when amateurs used the platform to express themselves, only fueled by a desire to create and share, rather than brands or influencers seeking financial reward.

Karim has updated the video's description a couple of times over the years to call out Google. In November 2013, the description read "I can't comment here anymore, since i don't want a Google+ business relationship," in response to YouTube's integration with Google+. Similarly, in November 2021, it explained why YouTube hiding the dislike count is bad.

What's Adjacent for YouTube?

Now, billions of people use YouTube every mean solar day, with no sign of that slowing down. Considering no video sharing platform has ever come close to touching YouTube'south authorisation, it's probable to stay that way for a long time.

However, other video sites continue to be (Vimeo included!), of which some people consider to be superior to YouTube thanks to their relaxed content restrictions or focus on community.

12 Video Sites That Are Better Than YouTube

Read Next

About The Author