Video uploading capabilities were added on April 23, when Karim posted the first video, titled Me at the Zoo. The 19-second clip showing Karim at the San Diego Zoo’s elephant exhibit has garnered 348 million views.
“YouTube was started by tech bros who wanted a video hosting service to watch reruns of Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’ during the Super Bowl,“ said eMarketer analyst Ross Benes.
YouTube reached more than 2.5 billion viewers globally last year, with its music and premium tier subscribers hitting 100 million, according to market tracker Statista.
“If you go back 20 years, it would have seemed laughable that this website with kids making parody videos would become a threat to Disney, ABC, and CBS,“ Benes said.
Pivotal moment
The platform hosts everything from concert clips to political campaign ads to how-to videos – and much more.
According to Google, more than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
“YouTube was part of the recovery from the dot-com collapse, when people realised monetization was actually important,“ said tech analyst Rob Enderle. “YouTube became an example of how dot-coms should have been done, as opposed to how they were done in the late 1990s.”
The company also enhanced technology and negotiated with studios to address copyright violations on what was once considered the Wild West of video content.
YouTube also worked its way past concerns that disturbing content, like parody videos of popular cartoon characters in violent or risque situations, were being served up to children by its recommendation software.
Analyst Enderle credited much of YouTube’s development into a formidable platform to former chief executive Susan Wojcicki, who died last year.
Set to surpass US cable TV
The platform now competes with streaming services like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon Prime, as well as short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram’s Reels.
“As the original streaming video platform, YouTube has continued to evolve and differentiate,“ said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester.
While YouTube’s recommendation algorithm has traditionally favored established creators, longtime content maker “Robert G” noted that emerging creators are once again being featured on the home page.
“YouTube is part of me; it is what I do.” – AFP
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