Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim – colleagues at PayPal – came up with the idea for YouTube at a party in 2005. The YouTube.com domain was launched on February 14, 2005.

However, on April 23rd, the video uploading feature was added when Karim first posted the video "Me at the Zoo." The 19-second clip shows Karim in the elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo. To date, the video has garnered over 348 million views.

In just 20 years, YouTube has become something enormous, far beyond the wildest imagination of its founders.

According to analyst Ross Benes, the three founders of YouTube simply wanted to launch YouTube as a video hosting service to rewatch singer Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the Super Bowl.

Today, it is the world's largest online video service in terms of user time and advertising revenue.

According to research firm Statista, YouTube is expected to reach over 2.5 billion global viewers by 2024, with YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers reaching 100 million.

Google – the owner of YouTube – revealed that users watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube content daily on TVs alone.

"If we went back 20 years, it would have been ridiculous to think that a website full of kids' parody videos would become a threat to Disney, ABC, and CBS," Benes said.

YouTube challenges major television networks without the expense of studios or production. Users are the creators and uploaders of content.

The platform hosts everything from concert clips to campaign ads and life hacks… The sheer volume of new content makes YouTube impossible to ignore.

According to Google, more than 500 hours of YouTube video are uploaded every minute.

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The three founders of YouTube: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. Photo: CNBC

Analysts consider Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube in 2006 a historic turning point, as it combined Google's expertise in search and advertising with a video-sharing platform that boasted a passionate user base.

According to analyst Rob Enderle, YouTube is part of the recovery from the collapse of the dot-com bubble, as people realize that making money is really important.

Google has used its advertising expertise to create a successful model, sharing revenue with content creators. The company has also improved its technology, negotiated with studios to resolve copyright disputes, and worked to address problematic content such as violence and nudity.

The company constantly changes its algorithms to avoid offending users, advertisers, and governments .

Analyst Enderle attributes much of YouTube's success to its late CEO Susan Wojcicki, who passed away last year.

Analyst Benes predicts that within two years, YouTube will surpass all US cable channels in the number of paying subscribers. The platform is competing with streaming services like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon Prime, as well as short-video services like TikTok and Instagram Reels. YouTube has launched its Shorts feature in response.

5 facts about YouTube you might not know.

When was YouTube created?

YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, who were employees of the PayPal payment system. The three friends' first YouTube office was located above a pizza shop in San Mateo, California, USA.

First video on YouTube?

The first video was uploaded to YouTube on April 23, 2005. It was a 19-second clip, "Me at the Zoo," by co-founder Jawed Karim.

How many videos are there on YouTube?

YouTube doesn't disclose the number of videos on its platform, but a 2023 study by The Atlantic estimated that 14 billion videos are publicly available there. In 2006, YouTube had 34 million monthly users, watching an average of 100 million videos per day.

However, after 20 years, that number has increased dramatically to approximately 2.5 billion monthly users, watching around 5 billion YouTube videos every day.

What is the most-watched video on YouTube?

Music videos dominate the list of most-watched videos on YouTube. Baby Shark Dance tops the list with over 15 billion views.

What is the most followed YouTuber?

YouTuber MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) owns the channel with the most subscribers, with over 360 million subscribers. He is also considered the highest-earning creator on YouTube.

Forbes estimates he earned $85 million last year. His secret is "creating videos people want to watch" instead of focusing on beating YouTube's algorithm.

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