So almost everyone knows YouTube, that's for sure. But did you know how today's most popular video streaming platform started?
Let's dive into how YouTube evolved into the greatest video streaming platform it is today.
How Did YouTube Start
Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim met while working for PayPal and launched YouTube. The three purchased the YouTube domain name on Feb. 14, 2005, and began creating the site.
After a few months of effective operation, the trio put together a proposal for Venture Capital firms and were eventually able to secure $11.5 million in funding from Sequoia Capital to help get the company off the ground.
How Did YouTube Get Its Name
The origin of the name "YouTube" is actually quite simple. "You" denotes that the content is user-generated, which means that it's created by individual users rather than the site itself, and "Tube" is a play on an older term for television.
What Was the Original Purpose of YouTube
YouTube was originally intended to be a place where anyone could upload any video content they wanted. On the site, users were meant to be able to freely upload, distribute, and watch content.
What Is the First Video on YouTube
The beta version of YouTube was launched in May 2005, and the first video was uploaded within a month. The 19-second clip titled "Me at the Zoo," was posted by Karim himself.
How Did YouTube Become Famous?
In December 2005, Saturday Night Live broadcast its first video short, "Lazy Sunday," towards the end of the episode, which also served as the season finale, and it was the first time the public really heard of YouTube. Everyone was raving about the SNL rap video the next day, yet it wasn't being shown on TV anyplace.
And with that, the entire globe was introduced to the concept of sharing videos on YouTube.
How Did Google Acquire Youtube?
Another problem that bedeviled YouTube in its early days was that the great majority of videos uploaded were copyrighted.
When Google came in and saved the day, YouTube was literally one lawsuit or one bandwidth bill away from going bankrupt. Google paid $1.65 billion in stock for YouTube on Oct. 9, 2006.
Google's stock price soared by $2 billion in two days after it acquired YouTube.
How Did YouTube Earn Money?
Google eventually added its Google Ads service to video content on the platform in an attempt to bolster the site's profitability. And it was a success.
However, this is not the platform's primary source of revenue. YouTube also makes money through its subscription-based business, which includes YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red), Music Premium, and paid TV service.
It has also paved the way for the emergence of a brand-new profession: YouTube content creator, which for some YouTubers throughout the world may be a lucrative job.
How Is YouTube Today
YouTube is now used by over 1.3 billion people each month. 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute, and almost five billion videos are watched on YouTube every day.
Major Timeline
Here are some of the most significant milestones in the company's history (courtesy, in part, of Interesting Engineering):
- February 2005: Chad Hurley registers the logo, domain and trademark "YouTube."
- April 2005: First YouTube video was uploaded.
- October 2005: YouTube introduces the playlist feature for the first time.
- May 2006: For the first time, video responses are permitted.
- October 2006: Google acquires YouTube.
- May 2007: Partner's Program was launched.
- March 2010: The "Thumbs" rating system was added to YouTube.
- November 2011: "Youtube Analytics" tool was launched.
- October 2019: The "Two Ads" feature was launched.
