
Adrian Weckler: How YouTube became a colossus hiding in plain sight
Its first video was posted 20 years ago this week, now more than 20 million are uploaded each day – yet the media giant attracts little scrutiny from regulators
Today at 21:30
It was 20 years ago last week when the first YouTube video was uploaded.
Entitled 'Me at the Zoo', the 19-second clip featured YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim in front of two elephants at San Diego's zoo.

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Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Cork gamers unite in queue outside Smyths Toys for the midnight release of Nintendo Switch 2
Thousands of gamers across Ireland flocked to their closest Smyth's Toys Superstore in the hours leading up to midnight on Thursday to pick up the latest console in the series. Ali from BroGameTime, a YouTube channel with 147,000 subscribers, was one of the gamers standing outside Smyth's on Maylor Street in Cork City to pick up the console, which cost €469.99 for the console on its own or €509.99 with Mario Kart World included. He joined the queue before the midnight release, and he said it was 'cool' to be amongst those picking up the console on release day. 'It was cool because the last time (there was a big console release) it was the PS5 and that was during Covid, and I know some people came just to see the launch because everything is online now,' he said. According to the YouTuber, Smyth's staff segregated those who pre-ordered the console from those hoping to buy one on the spot. Ali pre-ordered the console, which was delivered to his house at 2pm on Thursday, but the gamer wanted to get his hands on the console before that. 'I did pre-order to my house, but the thing was I wanted it there and then, so I bought one on the spot and returned the one that arrived to my house at around 2pm. 'To be honest, there are some people who are re-selling them for over €550 or €600, and I don't want to do things like that, so I brought it back to the store for someone else to buy it. 'Those people are greedy,' he said. Ali added that the experience felt 'great' as he was surrounded by people from the same generation. 'It was great. I'm in my early 30s and most people in the line were around the same age as me, either late 20s or early 30s and most people were there to buy it for themselves and not for their kids. ADVERTISEMENT 'Everything has changed. We are the 90s kids and we buy games for ourselves instead of just for kids,' he added. He uploaded an unboxing video to his BroGameTime YouTube channel, which showcased the first few moments of booting and setting the console up. 'It feels much, much, much better. Even on the screen, I can't believe it. 'I was thinking it wouldn't be great compared to the original one, but I even played Mario Party from the original Switch and that looked great on the handheld. 'I think people should buy it if they want one because it is much better than the original Switch,' he concluded. Ali's channel can be found here:


Irish Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ronnie O'Sullivan announces surprise new career move after leaving UK
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Ronnie O'Sullivan has confirmed a surprising career move by launching his own YouTube channel. The seven-time world champion has been sporadic in choosing where and when he will play this season and has been vocal about his mental health when it comes to snooker. O'Sullivan pulled out of the Masters, which he was due to defend, and a string of other tournaments before returning to action, armed with a new cue, at the World Championship. Despite making the semi-finals, the Rocket cut a frustrated figure for the most part, complaining about both his form and equipment. He even took the drastic step of having the tip and ferrule replaced during his last-four defeat to eventual champion Zhao Xintong. After being crushed 17-7 by the Chinese superstar, the Rocket announced he intended to spend more time in the Middle East and said he planned to pick and choose which tournaments he enters. He has now engaged in another interest away from the table that he'll be able to fulfil wherever he goes by launching his own YouTube channel. With a link to a clip of his momentous 1000th professional century in the Players Championship final in 2019, O'Sullivan wrote on X: 'Finally gone and got a YouTube channel… I will be uploading all sorts here from some of my favourite shots and matches to me cooking to me meeting and chatting to some interesting people. Hope you guys enjoy it!!' However, upon visiting the channel, the only clip available was one of him hitting a 147 in practice while in Saudi Arabia before the World Championship. The 1000th century break clip appeared to have been removed. Still, the announcement went down well with many of his 564,000 X followers. One replied: 'Subbed already. Can't wait for more content. Good luck!' Another added: 'Good luck Ron, keep grafting & playing for as long as you can.' A third quipped: 'Ronnie O'Sullivan cooking must be Fast Food! Speaking after his World Championship exit, O'Sullivan explained his immediate plans, which involved getting away from the UK. 'I think I'm going to be moving out of the UK this year. A new life somewhere else," said the Essex potter, who has a snooker academy in his name in Saudi Arabia. 'I'll still try and play snooker but I don't know what the future looks like for me really. I'm moving away soon so I'll just see how it goes. There's a lot of more important things in life to worry about than a game of snooker. 'For me, it's a big part of my life, but I've got to try and figure out what my future looks like, whether it's playing or not. I'll be moving away to the Middle East but we'll see how it goes. I might be back in six months, who knows!" Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.


The Irish Sun
13 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Nepo baby with rock star dad and Hollywood A-list mum releases song moaning about being rich – can you guess who she is?
IT'S a hard life being part of Hollywood royalty – and this nepo baby pop star-in-the-making wants to make sure everyone knows it. But can you guess who this star's famous family are? 7 Romy Mars sends up life as an A-Lister in her new single Credit: YouTube / Romy Mars 7 The 18-year-old is primped by stylists in the clip Credit: YouTube / Romy Mars 7 The pop singer is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola Credit: AFP In a cheeky parody of life in the limelight, new single A-Listers gives the highs and lows of being rich, from someone who has lived in it from the start. Romy Mars, 18, dropped the song and music video this week, with A-Lister's lyrics talking about how empty fame and fortune actually is. She croons in the first verse: 'Grant all of my wishes, riches to riches, and one day I'll be bored with everything that I've got. 'Get out of fancy clothes right after they get the shot, Recreate scenes from Titanic on a flying bridge yacht.' Romy knows the feeling better than most thanks to her famous family on both sides of her genetic line. Her mother, She follows in the footsteps of her own father, the legendary Godfather director, Francis Ford Coppola. Romy's father is French musician and Phoenix frontman, Thomas Mars, whom Sofia met on the set of the Virgin Suicides in 1999 but got together with in the late 2000's. Most read in Entertainment The pair have been married since 2011, and have two daughters, Romy and Cosima, both of whom have picked up their creative flair. In the accompanying music video, Romy is seen being primped and pampered for a photoshoot, in between scenes of a runaway marriage, fighting through a crowd of paparazzi cameras, and spending a day by a pool in a mansion. The Bling Ring - Teaser Trailer 'I love this golden sunny West Coast, sceney plastic world,' she sings. 'I miss being a real girl, sure, but I'm not a real girl anymore.' After watching the video, fans commented that it reminds them of Paris Hilton's music career. Her launch into music comes two years The video racked up millions of views before it was eventually deleted, with her parents banning the then-16-year-old from having public social media accounts. She's since leaned into her privileged image, releasing an EP last year titled Stuck Up. 7 Romy is one of Sofia Coppola's two daughters Credit: Getty 7 The teen got in trouble at 16 for 'trying to charter a private jet to see her friend' Credit: Getty 7 Romy got her musical flair from her dad, French musician Thomas Mars Credit: Getty 7 Romy laments on living in a 'plastic world' in the song Credit: YouTube / Romy Mars