YouTube's 20th Anniversary

YouTube founders Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Photo: ZUMA

Karim, who is German, first came up with the idea of ​​creating a website for people to share home videos after he failed to find footage of two separate events in 2004. In February 2004, after Janet Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction during a halftime show with Justin Timberlake at a football game, demand for video clips spiked. By December 2004, when the devastating tsunami struck the Indian Ocean, people were desperate to find and share video footage of the disaster.

“We didn’t even know how to describe our new product,” Karim explained in his 2007 commencement speech at the University of Illinois. “To generate interest, we just said it was a new kind of dating site.” Over time, the team refined the site, helping to define this new playing field.

Within a year of its launch, users around the world were drawn to YouTube’s friendly interface and the novelty of allowing anyone to become a content creator with just an account and a camera. In addition, the ability to interact, comment, or subscribe while the content was being played created a comprehensive, engaging experience. By November 2006, Google had recognized YouTube’s potential and acquired it for $1.65 billion in stock.

Today, more than 500 hours of content are uploaded to the service every minute. South Korean singer Psy's Gangnam Style dance in 2012 became the first video to reach 1 billion views, demonstrating the platform's ability to transcend cultural and language barriers. The Baby Shark Dance is currently the most viewed video on YouTube, with more than 15 billion views. YouTube is also credited with discovering pop sensation Justin Bieber. In 2007, Pattie Mallette uploaded videos of her young son singing covers of songs, catching the attention of talent manager Scooter Braun. This helped turn Justin Bieber into a pop idol. Bieber's popularity also reflects YouTube's role in leveling the playing field in the entertainment industry, where anyone with a camera and a phone has the potential to become the next celebrity.

Beyond culture, the platform is best known for providing helpful tips, from how to take pictures of the moon with an iPhone to cleaning with Coca-Cola. Channels like TED-Ed, Khan Academy, and CrashCourse have also turned the platform into a virtual classroom that anyone, anywhere can access.

According to the Pew Research Center's "Social Media Use in 2021" study, during the Covid-19 pandemic, YouTube has been the fastest growing social media platform as people look for productive ways to spend their free time.

However, the platform has also faced criticism for its handling of copyrighted content, the promotion of conspiracy theories, and the presence of inappropriate content. Various measures have been taken to address these concerns, including stricter content policies and improved algorithms to filter out harmful content.

KHANH MINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dau-an-20-nam-cua-youtube-post793691.html