The first video on YouTube was published on April 23, 2005 and the main character was Jawed Karim. Here's what it showed
YouTube is one of the most popular platforms on the web. It seems like it's been around forever, yet it hasn't even come of age. The site was founded on February 14, 2005 but the first movie was uploaded more than a month later, on April 23, 2005. Exactly 13 years have passed since that day and today we celebrate this anniversary.
Yes, today is the anniversary of the first video published on YouTube, but few people remember what it communicated, who was the protagonist and the setting. Also because in the following years through the platform have passed many viral content, memes, YouTubers and movies of all kinds and genres. But it's worth remembering this event: maybe someone could link it to a particular period of their life, when few had a mobile connection or a cell phone.
First video uploaded to YouTube: here's what it was
The anniversary of the first video published on the platform is a good opportunity to remove some dust from the past, and go through the most important stages of the history of the web. For example, YouTube on October 9, 2006 was acquired by Google at a price of about 1.5 billion euros. It has been steadily evolving ever since.
But let's focus on video. Does anyone remember it? Probably not, and that wouldn't be surprising since it's not a peculiar or viral clip like many others.
It's title was simply "Me at the Zoo" and it's one of the first so-called UGC (User Generated Content). The user in question was one of the founders of YouTube and with the gesture he wanted to give the cue to the tide of people who in a few years would fill the channel with their movies. The video showed the protagonist Jawed Karim while he was visiting the San Diego Zoo. The film lasted a few minutes and had a quality that left something to be desired. And this is normal, if we think that back then cameras didn't offer high standards. Moreover, at that time YouTube was still in beta, which was officially abandoned in November 2005. The first video is so important for the history of the web that it has its own page on Wikipedia.
The path YouTube has taken
After its acquisition by the Mountain View giant, the site has become increasingly important. Today it has over a billion users - about a third of the people online - spread across 88 countries worldwide. There are 76 languages supported, or 95% of the world's languages. More than a billion videos are viewed every day, and half of the views come from mobile devices. In short, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since that distant April 23, 13 years ago, and surely more will pass: YouTube is destined to evolve and increasingly enrich the network with videos of all kinds.