17 years ago on April 24, 25-year-old Jawed Karim uploaded the first video to YouTube, starting a service that soon became the go-to hub for video streaming.
The platform gives anyone with a camera and a good idea the chance to make a living out of their own content, thus giving birth to content creators.
The first YouTube clip, like most of the early videos, lacks the highly produced touches that most videos uploaded on the platform today. The low-res, 19-second video clip called "Me at the zoo," features YouTube co-founder Karim at San Diego Zoo. In the video, he is pointing out that elephants have remarkably long trunks.
First Ever Youtube Video Is a Representation of Karim's Vision
According to Greg Jarboe in his book Youtube and Video Marketing, "Me at the zoo" is a representation of an "ordinary moment" to be "extraordinary" for its time. It illustrates YouTube co-founder Karim's vision of what YouTube would become in the years ahead.
Jarboe further stated that the clip showed that YouTube was not simply about trying to "capture special moments on video" but instead trying to empower YouTube users "to become the broadcasters of tomorrow."
The first Youtube clip eventually make way for YouTube to become the most popular online video-sharing community in the world.
In 2009, the Los Angeles Times explained that "as the first video uploaded to YouTube, it played a pivotal role in fundamentally altering how people consumed media and helped usher in a golden era of the 60-second video."
According to Business Insider, "Me at the zoo" is considered as the most important YouTube video of all time, stating: "It is representative of YouTube-it doesn't need to be this fancy production; it can be approachable. The first YouTube video is something anyone could create on their own."
In the same manner, the New York Observer also considered it the most important video in YouTube history, saying "the thing is practically a historical artifact."
"Me at the zoo" is also listed among the 20 most important online video of all time by BuzzFeed News.
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Me at the zoo Paves Way for YouTube Success
One month after "Me at the zoo" hit the platform in April 2005, YouTube launched a public beta of the streaming site before an official launch in November of the same year.
According to Digital Trends, Karim left YouTube to study for a master's degree in computer science at Stanford University at around the same time.
However, when Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, he received shares worth tens of millions of dollars.
Eventually, Karim co-found a venture fund called Youniversity Ventures (now YVentures), together with Airbnb and Reddit as those benefiting from investments.
If YouTube makes a change to the platform that he doesn't like, Karim occasionally edits the clip's description to express his opinion. Last year, Karim criticized YouTube's removal of public dislike counts, per the Digital Trends report.
"Me at the zoo" has been viewed more than 228 million times and received more than 11 million comments as of April 2022.
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