Latest news with #JawedKarim
India.com
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This Man Uploaded Youtube's First Ever Video 20 Years Ago, Has Over 350 Million Views, It All Began At A Zoo…
photoDetails english 2899474 Updated:May 11, 2025, 12:33 PM IST The Video That Started It All 1 / 8 On April 24, 2005, a 19-second clip titled 'Me at the zoo' became the first video ever uploaded to YouTube. This simple moment marked the beginning of a global shift in how we create and consume video content. The video now has over 350 million views, and it's still online. Posted by YouTube Co-Founder Jawed Karim 2 / 8 The person behind this historic upload was Jawed Karim, one of YouTube's three co-founders. In the video, the then 25-year-old Karim stands in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo, casually sharing a few thoughts. This wasn't just any upload—it was the foundation of a revolution. What Happens in 'Me at the zoo'? 3 / 8 There's nothing fancy—no music, no editing. Just Jawed standing in front of elephants, saying: 'The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long trunks.' This raw, spontaneous feel would later become the essence of YouTube's charm. A Humble Beginning That Sparked a Giant 4 / 8 What made this video iconic was its authenticity. It showed that you didn't need big studios or expensive gear to share something meaningful. This upload became the seed that would grow into YouTube—the world's biggest video-sharing platform. When and Why YouTube Was Created 5 / 8 YouTube was founded in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees: Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley. Originally, they wanted to create a video dating site! But they soon saw the potential of a platform where anyone could upload any kind of video. The Rise of a Video Empire 6 / 8 YouTube's domain was registered on February 14, 2005. Just two months later, 'Me at the zoo' was uploaded. By December 2005, YouTube had exploded—getting more than 2 million views a day. The world was hooked on this new kind of content. The Game-Changing Google Acquisition 7 / 8 In November 2006, just a year after its launch, Google acquired YouTube for 1.65 billion dollar in stock. Today, YouTube has over 2 billion users and people watch more than a billion hours of video every single day. Why 'Me at the zoo' Still Matters 8 / 8 This first video wasn't just about elephants—it symbolized the birth of user-generated content. It led to vlogs, tutorials, music videos, reaction content, and more. 'Me at the zoo' showed the world that anyone could have a voice—and that idea changed the internet forever.
Metro
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'I went viral on YouTube 20 years ago – I'd flop if I posted it now'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The first video ever uploaded to YouTube is a three-part saga. At least, according to its creator. 'Intro', 'the cool thing' and the 'end' are the three chapters on the video, 'Me at the zoo', uploaded on April 23, 2005. Jawed Karim, one of the site's founders, chats to the camera as elephants flop around in hay behind him. 'Here we are in front of the, uh, elephants,' Karim says. 'They have really, really, really long' – he takes a suspenseful pause – 'trunks.' A little over 20 years later, YouTube now boasts an estimated 14 billion videos. That's one and a half clips for every person on the planet. Among those videos is one uploaded in 2006 of four guys doing an elaborate dance routine on motorised treadmills. It was a music video for the song, Here It Goes Again, by the American rock band OK Go. The video on YouTube, which has 67million views, is not the original clip the band uploaded. That was taken down by the band's record label, EMI, when it had just over 70million views, the band told Metro. Damian Kulash, 49, lead singer of OK Go, shot the video at his sister's house. One Grammy, three albums and nearly 20 years later, tens of millions have seen the four members get sweaty in wide ties and thick cardigans. 'Unquestionably, the last 20 years would have gone very differently for me – that video opened a whole new universe of creative possibilities,' Damian tells Metro between rehearsals for OK Go's And the Adjacent Possible tour. 'Or rather, it threw down the gauntlet with the greatest, most terrifying gift a creative person can be given: a truly boundless canvas.' The video helped OK Go become so famous for inventive, colourfully elaborate videos that the band's choreography has a separate Wikipedia page. 'We've made dozens more of those weird, elaborate videos, and racked up over a billion views for art projects that simply couldn't have existed in – or at least wouldn't have fit the model of – any prior era,' Damian adds. 'My favourite YouTube comment this week is on our video for Love, a single-shot, over-the-top spectacle of kaleidoscopes and infinity rooms made by 29 robots controlling 65 mirrors: 'Whatever. Whole thing was done with mirrors.'' How OK Go posted Here It Goes Again on YouTube in the era of slick, MTV-ready music videos played a big part in the band's success, he adds. 'One of the founders, Chad Hurley, personally emailed us to ask us to give [YouTube] a try,' he says, describing what posting a three-minute-long video did for the band as 'tectonic'. 'In a blink, it pulled the rug out from under the massive industry of legacy media and democratised the distribution of information to a degree the world has never seen before. 'I don't think anyone could have predicted all the ways the world would adapt and change, and those changes are so all-encompassing that I feel a little silly talking about what it meant for my band, personally.' YouTube, Damian adds, also provided the then-startup band OK Go with a way to reach fans in a way that TV channels (and before the days of Instagram Live Q&As) never could. 'One day we were a hard-touring indie rock band reliant on a record label, the radio industry, and being in a new city every night to connect with humans out there in the world,' the guitarist says. 'Then next, we had a direct line to millions of fans.' Tay Zonday could say the same. 17 years ago, he posted a no-thrills video of himself singing an original song, Chocolate Rain. With his deep bass voice and earnest delivery, Tay quickly became known as the 'Chocolate Rain Guy' as the clip tallied 140million views. The open mic singer was suddenly making guest spots on Good Morning America, having his song dubbed 'the most listened-to song in the world' and winning the YouTube Music Award. All while studying for a PhD in American studies at the University of Minnesota. 'My viral YouTube video changed my life,' Tay, whose real name is Adam Bahner, tells Metro. 'People connected with me because Chocolate Rain embodied novelty.' This was in 2007, the now 42-year-old voice actor stresses, when homemade videos in 240p like Chocolate Rain drew crowds of clicks. But the platform isn't what it was when Tay first joined. He questions whether Chocolate Rain would have been met with the same success it did back then if it were uploaded today. This is partly down to the YouTube algorithm, which decides what videos to suggest to a viewer. The recommendation system directly drives about 70% of views on the platform, researchers say. Some YouTubers say they approach the platform as if it were a science – from opening or closing their mouths in a video thumbnail to rarely taking a break from uploading – to please the algorithm. 'Today, loyalty determines content success. The most loyal audience that clicks and watches the most wins,' Tay says. 'Keeping people in loyal content bubbles is like feeding everyone sugar. YouTube makes perfect pastries, but should not have the power to decide the world's diet.' 'YouTube has beautiful moments, but it's Icarus flying too close to the business sun,' he adds. 'It must make changes that will be bad for business and good for humanity.' Damian similarly wonders how successful the band would have been if they had signed up for YouTube account in 2025. 'It's funny that we're only in our 40s, but we're already being treated as the grandfathers of a cultural form,' he says. 'But internet generations are fast, and I'm flattered by the recognition we've gotten from today's superstars.' As YouTube and the people who upload, watch, share, remix and meme videos continue to change, Damian doubts the band will change with it. OK Go projects can take nearly a year to create, making modern live streamers, next-day delivery shopping haulers and vloggers seem like 'speedy little creatures'. OK Go will never be as speedy as today's generation of YouTubers – and Damian's perfectly okay with that. 'The 20th century is the sea, and it's filled with gorgeous, venerable cultural creatures like painters, rock bands, journalists, movie directors, and the like,' he says. More Trending 'The 21st century is the land, now crawling with speedy little creatures like influencers and live streamers. 'OK Go is one of the delightfully weird creatures that crawled out of the sea in the first place, an amphibian that straddles both worlds and survives in a peculiar environmental niche we found in that transition between land and sea. 'We get to sink into our art projects with the effort and intentionality of the old world sea creatures, but it's the new ecosystem of the land animals that carries them off into culture.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Boris Johnson's ostrich-like response to Adolescence was inevitable
Express Tribune
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
YouTube marks 20 years with big numbers and bigger ambitions
Youtube okay use of AI amid increasing use for content creations. PHOTO: PIXABAY Listen to article YouTube turned 20 this April, marking two decades since co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the platform's first-ever video, Me at the Zoo, back in 2005. Now owned by Google, YouTube has evolved beyond a simple video-sharing site into a dominant force across entertainment, music, and technology. Earlier this week, YouTube shared a series of impressive statistics to commemorate the milestone. The company revealed that over 20 million videos are uploaded daily, and in 2024 alone, users posted an average of 100 million comments per day. Creators engaged actively as well, giving hearts to comments from around 10 million users every day. YouTube also highlighted that videos on the platform received over 3.5 billion likes daily last year. More than 300 music videos have now crossed the billion-views mark — a reflection of the platform's global reach and influence. The anniversary celebrations also extended to YouTube Music and YouTube Kids, both of which are turning 10. Interestingly, before YouTube Music officially launched, it operated internally under the codename "Woodstock." Looking ahead, YouTube plans to integrate more AI-driven features across its services, while continuing to push its Premium offering. The company underlined that expanding Premium subscriptions would support its broader aim of sustaining and rewarding the global creator community. As YouTube steps into its third decade, it is clear the platform remains at the centre of how audiences discover and enjoy digital content — whether on mobile, web, or big screens.
Irish Independent
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
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.
South China Morning Post
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
YouTube's first 20 years, from dating site to home-video platform to ‘king of all media'
The grainy, 19-second YouTube video that started it all hardly had the makings of a viral sensation. Advertisement Shot at the San Diego Zoo in the US state of California, the primitive video clip showed Jawed Karim, the platform's co-founder, complimenting the elephants in the frame behind him. 'The cool thing about these guys is they have really, really, really long trunks,' Karim said. The clip, titled 'Me at the zoo', was the first video uploaded onto YouTube 20 years ago, opening the door to a new medium. From those modest beginnings, the site opened the gates for users from around the world to post funny, viral videos that could take the internet by storm, racking up millions of views and earning some of them millions of US dollars. Popular music artists such as Justin Bieber rose to fame on YouTube, and social media stars, including MrBeast turned their large followings into powerful entertainment companies. The destination for home-made videos such as 'Charlie bit my finger' is now the streaming home to large music festivals like Coachella and American football games. Advertisement
