
20 Years Later, Another 'Zoo' Video On YouTube Has A Very Different Message
Video sharing service YouTube marked its 20th anniversary on Wednesday (Photo by Olly Curtis/Future ... More via Getty Images)
Video sharing service YouTube marked its 20th anniversary on Wednesday, marking the literal billions of videos that have been uploaded to the service. It all began with a simple 19-second clip of co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo titled "Me at the zoo."
"Alright, so here we are in front of the, uh, elephants, and the cool thing about these guys is that, is that they have really, really, really long, um, trunks, and that's, that's cool. And that's pretty much all there is to say," Karim says in the narration.
"Me at the Zoo" may not have the lasting impact, perhaps of Neil Armstrong's "One small step for man," moon landing, but as narration goes, it was arguably better than Thomas Edison's first recording on a phonograph, in which he simply recited the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" nursery rhyme.
"YouTube's twentieth anniversary is a notable milestone in the evolution of the internet and video-based social media. This anniversary also shows that these impactful technologies are still very young. Though our knowledge increases as more research is published, we still do not have the full scope of YouTube's influence yet," said Dr. Julianna Kirschner, lecturer in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.
Now, two decades after Karim's day out at the zoo, animal rights supporters released another video, this time called "Us Still At the Zoo." It presented a more carefully considered message that didn't just note the "really long" trunks, but was meant to put a focus on the plight of animals in captivity.
"The 20th anniversary of the first YouTube video is a great way to raise this topic," explained Diederik Jeangout, the creative head of Make it Happener, which produced the recent video for World Animal Protection USA.
He explained in an email that combining footage of the very first clip, help show that over the past two decades the issue of the treatment of animals hasn't changed much.
"As it's a seemingly meaningless clip of someone enjoying a visit to the zoo, it's much more than that. It's a portal to two decades ago, showing how we treated animals back then and how essentially nothing really changed," added Jeangout. "Yes, we've put these magnificent creatures in slightly larger enclosures and we've dressed these confinements with faux rocks and bamboo walls, but we're still holding them in 700,000 times smaller cages compared to their natural habitat."
There is no shortage of activist videos on YouTube today, but what might make "Us Still At the Zoo" stand out is that it could be linked going forward with the historic first video.
"From such a simple video — a man standing in front of elephants at the zoo talking about how cool are their trunks — we got the incredible platform that is YouTube. And this is an interesting idea, using YouTube's first video as a springboard for something that carries a deeper message," said Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer in the Communication, Film and Media Studies Department at New Haven University's College of Arts & Sciences.
"Given the resurgence of the 2005 video, it is a smart marketing move to create 'Us Still at the Zoom.' The audience analysis strategy is effective for activists to use while communicating their intended messages," added Kirschner. "However, whether they convince audiences not already primed to accept or consider their message is unlikely. Audiences would need to be considering the activists' stance already or firmly in their camp for the messaging to be effective."
The message could fall on deaf ears or worse.
"As with so many messages meant to sway the public, the people who create such things walk a fine line between earnest education and, well, being maudlin, as in having a person deliver the voiceover as a dead elephant," warned Campbell. "The message can get lost in the method, and it's unfortunate, because this is an important message from World Animal Protection. It's sad to think we're still caging these beautiful beasts."
Then there is also the danger that engagement can also come in the opposite direction. Instead of bringing users to their cause, it may have the opposite effect.
"Users with different stances might respond to these posts as they would with rage bait," said Kirschner. "Activists should expect these distinctly polarizing perspectives in their video comments. The effectiveness tends to remain with those already primed for the message, while the rage-bait commenters might unintentionally amplify these messages to more users. The latter case is key for activists: Accept rage bait as the cost of doing business, so the message can be amplified and potentially reach those that might be convinced."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
17 minutes ago
- Forbes
The Nintendo Switch 2 Should Get Its Most Important App Soon
Switch 2 The Nintendo Switch 2 is out and has sold millions of copies already. Its game roster is mostly reprised hits, with only a few truly new entries (Mario Kart World), but owners also want the handheld to be able to do more than just play games. As it stands, there is no YouTube app on the Nintendo Switch 2, mirroring the issue that the Switch 1 had for a long while. The original Switch was launched on March 3, 2017 and it did not get the much-requested YouTube app until November 8, 2018, over a year later. Nintendo and Google are apparently both trying to avoid that kind of lengthy wait this time around. The YouTube team app responded to a fan asking about the issue, and got a response: I'm not sure a list of other devices that play YouTube is helpful here. The timeline here is 'soon,' which I take to mean less than a year like we saw with the Switch 1. I am amazed that Nintendo has been making this console for probably half a decade and once again it launched without key dedicated video apps, YouTube included. I'm not clear on how they can get CDPR to tireless work on making Cyberpunk 2077 work well on the Switch but they can't figure out how to get YouTube or Hulu on the system for launch. It's bizarre. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Right now you can transfer the old YouTube Switch app to the Switch 2 but…it doesn't work, so that's not any sort of workaround. This is one of those things where I think we give Nintendo too much slack about, the fact that the console can launch with almost no actually new games and not even a ton of standard apps that it should have for day one. But hey, it's Nintendo and Nintendo always gets passes. Hopefully we hear more about this soon from a source other than what a help account bot, but I have to believe it's a priority on at least Google's side, if not Nintendo's. There's no way it can take as long as it did last time, right? Right? Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.


New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Pat McAfee spars with soccer announcer after missing semifinal of $1 million tournament
Pat McAfee doesn't even have to be somewhere to end up in the middle of a controversy. While broadcasting a seven-on-seven soccer tournament, TST announcers Sebastian Salazar and Herculez Gomez called out McAfee for not being present as the team he owns, the CONCAFA Soccer Club, played a semifinal game where the winner of the final would win $1 million. 'Hold on, we're hyping up Pat McAfee and he's not even here?' Salazar said after the duo mistakenly thought McAfee was in attendance. 'You've got to be here, your team is playing for a million bucks tomorrow. Production, what are you telling me he's got going on? WWE. You know anything about that Herc?' Advertisement 3 Pat McAfee called out broadcasters at TST for making jokes. WWE via Getty Images McAfee, who did take his eponymous show on the road to Cary, N.C. during the week for the beginning of the tournament, was broadcasting at one of WWE's premier events of the year, Money in the Bank, where he worked as an announcer alongside Michael Cole and Wade Barrett. The event featured the shocking return of R-Truth, who attacked John Cena in the main event and cost Cena and Logan Paul their tag team match against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. Advertisement It appears that McAfee got word about what they were saying about him on the broadcast. 'TST Commentary talking s–t on me,' McAfee said on X. 'Hope the CONCAFA squad s–t pumps this whole tournament.' 3 Pat McAfee was at Money in the Bank instead of with his soccer team. WWE via Getty Images McAfee then called out the commentary team, saying he 'had no idea what his name was' but that the 'guys a bum on the microphone.' Advertisement McAfee's squad was smashed in the match 5-1 as the Pumas de Alabama were able to clinch a finals berth. 'Heartbroken… Still incredibly prahd of the @ConcafaPod boys. It was a great run. The Pumas team was unbelievable.. good luck to them in the finals tomorrow.' Salazar, who works for ESPN part-time, didn't take the back and forth with McAfee lightly. Advertisement 'Sorry for your loss,' Salazar posted on X in McAfee's direction. 'Big man has some thin skin!' McAfee, a former NFL punter, founded the team and has played occasionally for them. 3 Sebastian Salazar is feuding with Pat McAfee. SebastianSalazar/Instagram 'Heartbroken… Still incredibly prahd of the @ConcafaPod boys,' the ESPN host wrote on X of his squad that is coached by former USMNT goalie Tony Meola. 'It was a great run. The Pumas team was unbelievable.. good luck to them in the finals (Monday).' The league features teams of men and women, where there is a winner-takes-all $1 million prize for both divisions. There is no second-place prize.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
WWE-AAA Crossover Worlds Collide Becomes Company's Most-Watched Live YouTube Broadcast Ever (EXCLUSIVE)
WWEtoday announced that Worlds Collide, its first joint Premium Live Event (PLE) with the recently-acquired Mexican promotion AAA, set a record for the largest live audience in company history for a YouTube broadcast. The event peaked at 764,389 live concurrent viewers across the WWE and WWE Espańol YouTube channels during the main event between AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo and WWE superstar Chad Gable. Still available to watch for free on YouTube, the show, which received rave reviews from fans of both companies as well as journalists from around the world, Saturday's broadcast has been watched by more than 4.1 million viewers on YouTube in the first 24 hours. On X, #WorldsCollide was the No. 1 trending topic globally on Saturday, and WWE generated more than 32 million social views across all platforms in the first 24 hours. Advertisement More from Variety Wrestlers from both companies mixed it up in several major matches, and some of the longtime veteran Mexican luchadors immediately got over with U.S. viewers who were seeing them for the first time. Chiefly among them, Mr. Iguana (seen above), who has become an overnight sensation with WWE fans and already has a shirt available on the WWE online shop. The evening's main event between El Hijo del Vikingo and Chad Gable was another standout and for many ranks among the best matches WWE has produced this year. In April, WWE announced its acquisition of AAA in partnership with Mexico-based sports and entertainment holding company, Fillip. The companies will continue to work together in the months and years to come, including at the upcoming Triplemanía Regia on June 15, where TNA, WWE and AAA wrestlers will appear in the same show for the first time ever. Worlds Collide can be watched for free on WWE's YouTube channel, and is available with both English and Spanish commentary. Advertisement Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.