その後、タイム誌の「Invention of the Year for 2006」に選出された[39]。2007年3月、民間調査会社のネットレイティングスから日本国内家庭からの利用者が1000万人を超えたことが発表された[40]。同年5月、第11回ウェビー賞を受賞[41]。2007年にYouTubeが消費した通信容量は、2000年当時のインターネット全体の通信量に相当すると推定された[42]。
第三者のウェブ分析企業であるアレクサ・インターネットおよびシミラーウェブによれば、YouTubeは2016年12月時点で世界で2番目に訪問者の多いウェブサイト だった。さらにシミラーウェブは、月間150億人以上の訪問者を抱えるYouTubeは、テレビ・ビデオ分野における世界第1位のウェブサイトであるとした[45][46][47]。2008年11月22日、YouTube本部が主催する公式イベント「YouTube Live」がサンフランシスコで開かれ、11月23日には日本の東京都で「YouTube Live Tokyo」が開かれた。
O YouTube utiliza o codec de vídeo VP9 primariamente para disponibilizar o conteúdo, mas é utilizado também H.264.[7][8] Os codecs de áudio AAC, Opus e Vorbis são utilizados.[9] Hospeda uma grande variedade de filmes, videoclipes e materiais caseiros. O material encontrado no YouTube pode ser disponibilizado em blogs e em sites pessoais através de mecanismos (APIs) desenvolvidos pelo site.
Possivelmente interessado em expandir o mercado de publicidade de vídeos através de seu AdSense e também em se consolidar como um dos maiores serviços de Internet do mundo, foi anunciada em 9 de outubro de 2006 a compra do YouTube pelo Google, pela quantia de 1,65 bilhão de dólares em ações.[10] O resultado dessa aquisição fez com que o Google encerrasse as atividades do Google Video.
A revista estadunidense Time (edição de 13 de novembro de 2006) elegeu o YouTube a melhor invenção do ano por, entre outros motivos, “criar uma nova forma para milhões de pessoas entreterem-se, educarem-se e chocarem-se de uma maneira nunca antes vista”.[11] Em 2010, no aniversário de cinco anos do YouTube, foi divulgado que até então o site não havia sido lucrativo para os seus proprietários.[12]
Primeiro vídeo do YouTube: “Eu no Zoológico”, publicado por Jawed Karim em 23 de abril de 2005.
Origem do nome
YouTube vem do inglêsyou: você e tube — tubo, ou, no caso, gíria utilizada para designar a televisão. No caso, You television ficaria algo como “Você televisiona”, “Você transmite”, “Você na telinha”, “Você na tela”, etc., lembrando que, assim como o português, a língua inglesa permite a criação de verbos com base em substantivos.
O domínio “YouTube.com” foi ativado em 15 de fevereiro de 2005[15] e o site foi desenvolvido nos meses seguintes. Os criadores do site ofereceram uma prévia do site ao público em maio de 2005, seis meses antes do lançamento oficial. O primeiro vídeo do YouTube, intitulado Me at the zoo, publicado em abril do mesmo ano, mostra o co-fundador Jawed Karim no Zoológico de San Diego.[16] O vídeo foi publicado em 23 de abril de 2005 e ainda pode ser visualizado no site.[17]
Em 9 de outubro de 2006, foi anunciado que a companhia seria comprada pelo Google por 1 650 milhões de dólares em ações. O negócio entre Google e YouTube veio depois que o YouTube apresentou três acordos com empresas de comunicação em uma tentativa de evitar processos sobre infração de direitos autorais. O YouTube continuou operando independentemente, com seus co-fundadores e 67 empregados trabalhando dentro da empresa.[18] A aquisição do YouTube foi fechada em 14 de novembro, e foi na época a segunda maior aquisição do Google.[19]
Problema com o nome de domínio
O êxito do YouTube afetou os negócios do “Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment”, cuja URL original do site, YouTube.com, foi tão visitada em uma hora que se sobrecarregou e saiu do ar por causa do grande número de visitantes que não tinham certeza do modo correto que se escrevia o url do YouTube.[20] No início de novembro de 2006, a Universal Tube entrou com uma ação legal na corte dos Estados Unidos contra o YouTube,[21] pedindo que o domínio YouTube.com lhes fosse transferido,[22] sem obter êxito. A partir de junho de 2008 a urlutube.comArquivado em 1 de setembro de 2019, no Wayback Machine. contém um simples aviso, enquanto a “Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment” se mudou para utubeonline.com. De acordo com a ferramenta de busca de domínios WHOIS, Universal Tube ainda é dona do domínio “utube.com”.[23]
O mesmo tipo de brincadeira de dia da mentira ocorreu com o serviço em 2016, o qual anunciou o SnoopaVision, que permite aos usuários ver o ponto de vista do rapperSnoop Dogg, filmado em 360 graus, em alguns vídeos.[25]
Em 2010, o YouTube criou uma alternativa divertida para quem espera o vídeo carregar. Enquanto o vídeo a que se quer assistir está carregando, pode-se pausá-lo e apertar a seta para cima ou para baixo do teclado, e já se estará jogando o “Jogo da Serpente”.[26]
YouTube est racheté par Google en octobre 2006 pour 1,65 milliard de dollars. C’est aujourd’hui une filiale du géant Alphabet, situé à San Bruno, en Californie.
En 2009, environ 350 millions de personnes visitent chaque mois le site[12]. En 2020, ce chiffre est passé à 2 milliards[13]. Une croissance des utilisateurs qui s’accompagne d’une croissance des revenus : en 2024, Youtube atteint pour la première fois les 50 milliards de dollars de revenus sur 12 mois[14], dont 36 milliards provenant de la publicité.
Première vidéo sur YouTube : « Moi au zoo », mise en ligne par Jawed Karim le 23 avril 2005.
Historique
La société a été créée en février 2005 par trois ex-employés de l’entreprise PayPal : Chad Hurley, Steve Chen et Jawed Karim[68]. La plateforme devait être à l’origine un site de rencontres reposant sur l’utilisation de vidéos, mais les créateurs ont renoncé à cette idée quelques jours après son lancement public[69]. La première vidéo de YouTube est d’ailleurs Me at the zoo, dans laquelle Jawed Karim commente sa visite au zoo de San Diego[70] (la vidéo a été mise en ligne le 23 avril 2005).
Le 9 octobre 2006, Google a racheté YouTube 1,65 milliard de dollars en nouvelles actions, ce qui constitue la quatrième plus grosse opération d’acquisition de Google[71] (après DoubleClick en 2007, Nest Labs en 2014 et Motorola en 2011). YouTube a conservé son nom et maintenu les emplois de 67 salariés dont les cofondateurs Chad Hurley et Steve Chen.
Le 30 mai 2007, Apple, en la personne de Steve Jobs, a annoncé que l’Apple TV s’ouvrirait à YouTube. À cette occasion, toutes les vidéos de YouTube ont été converties en H.264, un standard vidéo HD utilisé par Apple. C’est le plus grand virage technologique de YouTube depuis sa création. Il utilisait, en effet, jusqu’ici le format Flash Vidéo.
Le 19 juin 2007, Eric Schmidt, PDG de Google, se rend à Paris pour lancer la version française de YouTube destinée à concurrencer l’hébergeur de vidéos français Dailymotion. Google a également fait plusieurs propositions aux chaînes de télévision françaises, notamment à France 4, qui sera désormais diffusée sur YouTube en plus de la télévision classique[72]. Google souhaite étendre son offre à d’autres pays européens (comme l’Allemagne, pour concurrencer le site myVideo(en)) si l’essai aboutit à une réussite en France.
Depuis le 19 mai 2010, toutes les nouvelles vidéos de YouTube sont converties en WebM, formatouvert, concurrent de H.264, reposant sur le codec vidéo VP8, acquis par Google à la suite du rachat de On2, et sur le codec audio OGG Vorbis.
Un service de sous-titrage et de traduction existe (en 2010, encore au stade de bêta)[73].
Le 27 août 2015, YouTube Gaming est lancé[75] (annoncé à l’E3 2015), un site Internet et une application destinés à la communauté des gamers[76]. L’objectif est notamment de concurrencer Twitch, racheté en août 2015 par Amazon[77]. Le streaming vers la plateforme vidéo sera intégré dans la mise à jour 3.0 de la PlayStation 4[78] ; rien n’a encore été annoncé à ce jour du côté de la Xbox One.
Le 21 octobre 2015, la plateforme a annoncé le lancement d’une nouvelle offre d’abonnement payante : YouTube Red[79] (maintenant devenue YouTube Premium). L’objectif annoncé est d’offrir une meilleure expérience aux internautes qui le souhaitent en leur fournissant des vidéos sans publicité et en leur permettant de conserver des vidéos qu’ils pourront visionner plus tard sur leur ordinateur ou leur écran mobile sans nécessiter de connexion Internet[80].
En mars 2017, YouTube annonce le lancement de YouTube TV aux États-Unis, un service d’abonnement à des chaînes de télévision pour 35 $ par mois. Plus de 40 chaînes sont disponibles, dont ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC et ESPN[81],[82].
Le 2 avril 2018, une fusillade éclate au siège social de youTube situé à San Bruno, ce jour-là, Nasim Najafi Aghdam blesse 3 personnes par balles avant de se suicider[83].
En juillet 2021, YouTube déploie dans une centaine de pays un nouveau format de vidéos sur sa plateforme nommé Shorts. Mis en place pour rivaliser avec TikTok, les Shorts sont de courtes vidéos d’une durée n’excédant pas 60 secondes[84].
Die Einnahmen werden zum Großteil durch das Abspielen von Werbespots generiert.[2]
YouTube bietet drei Formen der Zugänglichkeit an: Öffentlich, Ungelistet oder Privat. Standard sind öffentliche Videos. Diese sind von jedermann anzusehen und in Suchergebnissen zu finden. Private Videos sind nur für den Uploader abspielbar. Ungelistete Videos sind nur mit Kenntnis des Aufruf-Links zugänglich; sie erscheinen nicht in Kanälen oder Suchergebnissen. Links zu ungelisteten vor 2017 hochgeladenen Videos wurden 2021 automatisch auf „Privat“ gestellt und somit unsichtbar – auch in Playlists.[3]
Über das YouTube-Partnerprogramm[4] ist es den Produzenten von Videos seit 2007 möglich, Geld zu verdienen. Häufig organisieren sich Produzenten zu Kooperationen in Netzwerken („Multi-Channel-Network“).[5]
Das erste YouTube-Video “Ich im Zoo”, hochgeladen am 23. April 2005 von Jawed Karim.
Geschichte
YouTube wurde am 14. Februar 2005 von den ehemaligen PayPal-Mitarbeitern Chad Hurley, Steve Chen und Jawed Karim gegründet. Der Begriffsteil „Tube“ (eigentlich: Röhre) bezeichnet umgangssprachlich einen Fernseher, abgeleitet von der darin früher verwendeten „cathode ray tube“ (dt.Kathodenstrahlröhre). Der Name im Ganzen (wörtlich: Du Röhre) könnte als „Du sendest“ verstanden werden. Ursprünglich sah das Konzept eine Art Datingplattform vor, allerdings wurde dieses Konzept nur wenige Tage nach dem Start verworfen.[6] Es hatte sich gezeigt, dass die wenigen ersten Benutzer der Plattform anstelle von Dating-Videos Videos ihrer Haustiere oder von Urlaubserlebnissen hochgeladen hatten. Dies fanden die drei Gründer interessant und änderten das Konzept der Plattform in ein allgemeines Videoportal, bei dem die Nutzer selbst die Videoinhalte bestimmten. Dies stieß auf großen Anklang. Schon damals konnten hochgeladene Videos mit „Gefällt mir“-Zeichen und Kommentaren versehen werden.[7] Der ursprüngliche Slogan ”Broadcast Yourself“ (deutsch: „strahle dich selbst aus“) bedeutete, dass jeder durch YouTube-Kanäle einen privaten fernsehähnlichen Kanal nachstellen kann. Dieser Spruch wurde bei einer Neugestaltung der Webpräsenz im Januar 2010 entfernt.[8]
Das erste Video auf dieser Plattform, Titel Me at the zoo, wurde von Karim selbst am 23. April 2005 hochgeladen.[9][10]
Am 9. Oktober 2006 wurde YouTube vom Suchmaschinenbetreiber Google für umgerechnet 1,31 Milliarden Euro (in Aktien) gekauft. Da die drei Gründer unterschiedliche Anteile am Unternehmen hielten, erhielten sie verschiedene Mengen an Google-Aktien: 694.087 + 41.232 Aktien für Hurley (damaliger Marktwert 345 Millionen US$), 625.366 + 68.721 Aktien für Chen (326 Millionen US$) und 137.443 Aktien für Karim (64 Millionen US$).[11] Die Marke YouTube blieb bestehen; der Betrieb mit 67 Mitarbeitern – darunter die Gründer Chad Hurley und Steve Chen – führte die Geschäfte vorerst unabhängig weiter.[12]
Zeitgleich erschien „QuickList“, eine Funktion zum Erstellen einer Warteschlange für nacheinander anzusehende Videos.[13]
2007 führte YouTube einen jährlichen Wettbewerb zur Förderung der Talente auf der Plattform ein. Unter dem Namen „Secret Talents“ (Secret Talents Award) trat man den großen Castingshows mit einem Onlinecasting entgegen. Den Gewinnern wurden Förderungsbudgets und ein professioneller YouTube-Kanal als Preise geboten.
Etwa 2008 wurde „Warp Player“ erprobt, eine alternative visuelle Ansicht zum Durchstöbern von Videos, dessen Vorschaubilder in ein schwebendes Netz angezeigt wurden.[16][17]
Eine Studie des Marktforschungsinstituts Hitwise von März 2008 ordnete YouTube 73 Prozent aller Besuche von US-Videoportal-Seiten zu.[18] Das eigene Videoangebot der Muttergesellschaft Google kam in dieser Zeit auf 8,4 Prozent.
Im selben Jahr wurde eine Funktion zum Nachtragen frei platzierbarer Anmerkungen und Sprechblasen auf Videos eingeführt. Solche konnten ebenfalls auf andere Videos verweisen, welches die Erstellung interaktiver Videos ermöglichte. Die Funktion wurde in der mobilen Anwendung nicht eingeführt. Das Erstellen neuer Anmerkungen wurde im Mai 2017 endgültig deaktiviert und im Januar 2019 gänzlich entfernt. Zum Verweisen auf andere Videos stehen am Videoende platzierbare „Infokarten“ zur Verfügung.[19]
Seit Oktober 2008 lässt sich per Zeitstempel-URL auf gewünschte Stellen in Videos verweisen.[20]
2009 wurde die Syndikationsfunktion „AutoShare“ eingeführt, welche auf Twitter und Google Plus, ursprünglich auch Facebook und Google Reader, das automatische Teilen von Aktivitäten aus der Kanal-Feed-Seite wahlweise ermöglichte: Neuveröffentlichungen, positive Bewertungsabgaben, zu Wiedergabelisten hinzugefügte Videos, und abonnierte Kanäle. Diese Funktion wurde am 31. Januar 2019 entfernt, und die „Feed“-Unterseite wurde Mitte 2020 abgeschafft.[21][22][23][24]
Ende 2009 wurde das Erzeugen von Untertiteln durch automatische Spracherkennung erstmals auf Englisch eingeführt. Ende 2012 wurde es auf sechs europäische Sprachen erweitert.[25][26]
Am 3. April 2010 wurde Bewertungen, die Nutzer abgeben können, wenn ein Video dies unterstützt, auf einer Skala von einem bis fünf Sternen durch „Gefällt mir“- und „Gefällt mir nicht“-Felder ersetzte, da Nutzer davor meist fünf oder einen Stern vergaben.
Am 6. März 2012 wurden Vorschau-Tooltips auf der Videosuchleiste erstmals erprobt. Diese zeigen beim Überfliegen mit dem Mauszeiger Vorschaubilder an, beim Gedrückthalten einen virtuellen Filmstreifen mit umgebenden Vorschaubildern, und bei Videos mit ab 90 Minuten Länge einen vergrößerten Ausschnitt der Suchleiste, während zuvor lediglich ein einfacher Zeitstempel angezeigt wurde.[27]
Das Design von YouTube wird mitunter verändert. Am 7. März 2012 erhielten alle Kanäle auf YouTube ein einheitliches Design, welches der seit Juli 2011 erprobten Gestaltung „Cosmic Panda“ ähnelt.[28][29]
Im August 2012 wurde YouTube Movies in Deutschland gestartet. YouTube Movies ist ein separater Bereich der Plattform für professionelle Kinofilme und Dokumentationen, darunter beispielsweise Dune oder Dawn of the Dead.[30]
Ab September 2012 konnten mit Cookies neue Designs von YouTube aufgerufen werden. Rief man die mobile Website von YouTube mit dem Smartphone auf, so konnte man das neue Design bereits einsehen.
Im Frühjahr 2013 erfolgte die Umstellung auf das umgestaltete so genannte „One“-Layout für Kanalseiten, welches die zuvor vereinte Kanalseite in separate, über Karteireiter abgerufene Unterseiten wie „Videos“, „Playlists“, „Diskussion“, und „Kanalinfo“ unterteilt; benutzerdefinierte Hintergrundbilder entfallen. Auf der Kanalhauptseite lassen sich Wiedergabelisten und meistaufgerufene Videos wahlweise als kompaktes horizontales Raster oder vertikale Liste mit Videobeschreibung einbinden. Grob ist dieses Kanallayout 2021 noch in Betrieb.[31][32][33]
Im Oktober 2013 stellte YouTube ein neues Design vor, das sich am Design von Google+ anlehnt. Seit der Umstellung dürfen nur noch Google+-Mitglieder Videos kommentieren.
Seit Ende 2015 bietet Google mit YouTube Gaming eine alternative Oberfläche von YouTube an, welche sich auf Videospiele spezialisiert hat. So soll es beispielsweise einfacher sein, Videospielkanäle zu finden.
Im Herbst 2017 bekam YouTube ein neues Design, welches an Googles Material Design angelehnt ist.
Zudem testete Google seit 2017 die „Community“-Kanalunterseite, welcher es den Videoerstellern erlaubt, Text, Bilder oder Umfragen ähnlich wie in einem sozialen Netzwerk zu posten. Im Winter 2017 wurde die Funktion auch für größere Kanäle außerhalb der USA freigeschaltet. Zum Stand April 2021 wird die Funktion Kanälen ab Tausend Abonnenten erteilt. Die neue „Community“-Unterseite ersetzt „Diskussion“; bestehende Diskussionen werden nicht beibehalten.[34]
Im März 2018 wurde ein Bild-in-Bild-Modus, zum Navigieren der Plattform und gleichzeitig festgehaltenem Videofeld in der Bildschirmecke, in der Desktop-Webseite eingebracht.[35] Es wurde ebenfalls kurzzeitig eine obige Leistenansicht des Videobereiches beim Abrollen der Wiedergabeseite erprobt, um das Lesen von Kommentaren ohne dem Ausblenden des Videobildes zu ermöglichen.[36]
Am 3. April 2018 wurde kurz vor 13 Uhr (UTC) ein „aktiver Schütze“ (active shooter) in der YouTube-Zentrale in San Bruno, San Francisco, gemeldet.[37][38][39][40][41] Die 39-jährige Nasim Najafi Aghdam eröffnete das Feuer, drei Personen erlitten Schusswunden; dann erschoss sie sich. Auf ihrer Website fand man ihre Beschwerde, dass sie mit über 350.000 Aufrufen nur $0,10 an Werbeeinnahmen erzielt habe.[42]
Mitte Juni 2018 startete YouTube Premium in Deutschland. Damit können Nutzer gegen ein monatliches Entgelt werbefreie YouTube-Videos sowie exklusive Serien und Filme schauen.[43]
Seit September 2019 werden Abonnentenzahlen öffentlich nur auf die ersten drei Ziffern abgerundet angezeigt. Dies beeinträchtigte die Funktion der von Drittanbietern wie Social Blade bereitgestellten Webanwendungen zur Echtzeit-Anzeige der Abonnentenzahl. Die genaue Abonnentenzahl steht lediglich im „YouTube Studio“ Kanalbetreibern zur Verfügung.[46]
Im November 2019 wurde erneut eine Warteschlangenfunktion eingeführt, nachdem die bereits 2006 bestehende ähnliche „QuickList“-Funktion zwischenzeitlich entfernt wurde. So lassen sich Videos vorab auswählen, zur automatischen fortgesetzten Wiedergabe bei Ende des Aktuellen.[47][13]
Seit Dezember 2019 steht die Möglichkeit zur Freigabe der automatisch erzeugten Wiedergabeliste mit positiv bewerteten Videos nicht mehr zur Verfügung.[48]
Am 20. März 2020 kündigte YouTube an, die Bildqualität in Europa wegen der COVID-19-Pandemie zu drosseln.[49]
Die Möglichkeit, über neu veröffentlichte Videos ausgewählter Kanäle über E-Mail benachrichtigt zu werden, wurde August 2020 entfernt, da laut Angaben von Google nur 0,1 % solcher Benachrichtigungen geöffnet werden würden. Es verbleiben lediglich Push-Benachrichtigungen für Mobilgeräte, und das interne Benachrichtigungssystem der Webseite für Heimrechner (Desktop und Laptop).[50]
In September 2020 wurde die Möglichkeit zum Einreichen von Untertitelvorschlägen durch Zuschauer entfernt.[51][52]
Im Juli 2021 wurden alle vor 2017 als „ungelistet“ hochgeladenen Videos auf „Privat“ umgestellt und sind somit ohne Eingriff von Kanalbetreibern nicht mehr abspielbar.[53][54][55]
Seit November 2021 ist die Anzahl der Dislikes (Bewertungen mit „Mag ich nicht“) nicht mehr öffentlich einsehbar. Laut einer Mitteilung des Betreibers solle damit „organisierter Missbrauch“ der Funktion unterbunden werden.[56] Die Begründung wird von Kritikern als vorgeschoben oder fadenscheinig bezeichnet. Die Ankündigung und das Update wurden von der YouTube-Gemeinschaft stark kritisiert, unter anderem von dem YouTuber und YouTube-Mitbegründer Jawed Karim,[57][58][59][60] da Nutzer nur durch Dislikes betrügerische, wenig hilfreiche, gefährliche, explizite, diskriminierende oder allgemein minderwertige Videos schnell erkennen können.[61][62][63][64] Um dem entgegenzusteuern, können Nutzer der YouTube-Website die Browser-ErweiterungReturn YouTube Dislike installieren, welche die ungefähre Bewertungszahl anhand historischer Daten und dem Bewertungsverhalten der Nutzer einschätzt.[65][66][67] Für Android bieten YouTube Vanced und YouTube ReVanced die Option an, negative Bewertungen anzuzeigen; die Daten werden von Return YouTube Dislike vermittelt.
Quelle: Wikipedia-Artikel “YouTube“. Der Text ist unter der Lizenz „Creative-Commons Namensnennung – Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen“ verfügbar; Informationen zu den Urhebern und zum Lizenzstatus eingebundener Mediendateien (etwa Bilder oder Videos) können im Regelfall durch Anklicken dieser abgerufen werden. Möglicherweise unterliegen die Inhalte jeweils zusätzlichen Bedingungen.
“Me at the zoo” – YouTube’s first video, uploaded by Jawed Karim on April 23rd, 2005
On November 13, 2006, YouTube was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion (equivalent to $2.39 billion in 2024).[11] Google expanded YouTube’s business model of generating revenue from advertisements alone, to offering paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by and for YouTube. It also offers YouTube Premium, a paid subscription option for watching content without ads. YouTube incorporated Google’s AdSense program, generating more revenue for both YouTube and approved content creators. In 2023, YouTube’s advertising revenue totaled $31.7 billion, a 2% increase from the $31.1 billion reported in 2022.[12] From Q4 2023 to Q3 2024, YouTube’s combined revenue from advertising and subscriptions exceeded $50 billion.[13]
According to a story that has often been repeated in the media, Hurley and Chen developed the idea for YouTube during the early months of 2005, after they had experienced difficulty sharing videos that had been shot at a dinner party at Chen’s apartment in San Francisco. Karim did not attend the party and denied that it had occurred, but Chen remarked that the idea that YouTube was founded after a dinner party “was probably very strengthened by marketing ideas around creating a story that was very digestible”.[16]
Karim said the inspiration for YouTube came from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy when Janet Jackson‘s breast was briefly exposed by Justin Timberlake during the halftime show. Karim could not easily find video clips of the incident and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami online, which led to the idea of a video-sharing site.[17][18] Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not.[16][19] They created posts on Craigslist asking attractive women to upload videos of themselves to YouTube in exchange for a $100 reward.[20] Difficulty in finding enough dating videos led to a change of plans, with the site’s founders deciding to accept uploads of any video.[21]
The YouTube logo used from its launch until 2007;[citation needed] it returned in 2008 before being removed again in 2010[citation needed] Another version of this logo without the “Broadcast Yourself” slogan was used until 2011.
YouTube began as a venture capital–funded technology startup. Between November 2005 and April 2006, the company raised money from various investors, with Sequoia Capital and Artis Capital Management being the largest two.[14][22] YouTube’s early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and a Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California.[23] In February 2005, the company activated www.youtube.com.[24] The first video was uploaded on April 23, 2005. Titled “Me at the zoo“, it shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo and can still be viewed on the site.[25][26] The same day, the company launched a public beta and by November, a Nike ad featuring Ronaldinho became the first video to reach one million total views.[27][28] The site launched officially on December 15, 2005, by which time the site was receiving 8 million views a day.[29][30] Clips at the time were limited to 100 megabytes, as little as 30 seconds of footage.[31]
YouTube was not the first video-sharing site on the Internet; Vimeo was launched in November 2004, though that site remained a side project of its developers from CollegeHumor.[32] The week of YouTube’s launch, NBCUniversal Saturday Night Live ran a skit “Lazy Sunday” by The Lonely Island. Besides helping to bolster ratings and long-term viewership for Saturday Night Live, “Lazy Sunday”‘s status as an early viral video helped establish YouTube as an important website.[33] Unofficial uploads of the skit to YouTube drew in more than five million collective views by February 2006 before they were removed when NBCUniversal requested it two months later based on copyright concerns.[34] Despite eventually being taken down, these duplicate uploads of the skit helped popularize YouTube’s reach and led to the upload of more third-party content.[35][36] The site grew rapidly; in July 2006, the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day.[37]
The choice of the name youtube.com led to problems for a similarly named website, utube.com. That site’s owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006, after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube subsequently changed its website to www.utubeonline.com.[38][39]
“Broadcast Yourself” era (2006–2013)
On October 9, 2006, Google announced that they had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock.[40][41] The deal was finalized on November 13, 2006.[42][43] Google’s acquisition launched newfound interest in video-sharing sites; IAC, which now owned Vimeo, focused on supporting the content creators to distinguish itself from YouTube.[32] It is at this time YouTube issued the slogan “Broadcast Yourself”. The company experienced rapid growth. The Daily Telegraph wrote that in 2007, YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000.[44] By 2010, the company had reached a market share of around 43% and more than 14 billion views of videos, according to comScore.[45] That year, the company simplified its interface to increase the time users would spend on the site.[46] In 2011, more than three billion videos were being watched each day with 48 hours of new videos uploaded every minute.[47][48][49] However, most of these views came from a relatively small number of videos; according to a software engineer at that time, 30% of videos accounted for 99% of views on the site.[50] That year, the company again changed its interface and at the same time, introduced a new logo with a darker shade of red.[51][52] A subsequent interface change, designed to unify the experience across desktop, TV, and mobile, was rolled out in 2013.[53] By that point, more than 100 hours were being uploaded every minute, increasing to 300 hours by November 2014.[54][55]
During that time, the company also went through some organizational changes. In October 2006, YouTube moved to a new office in San Bruno, California.[56] Hurley announced that he would be stepping down as chief executive officer of YouTube to take an advisory role and that Salar Kamangar would take over as head of the company in October 2010.[57] In December 2009, YouTube partnered with Vevo.[58] In April 2010, Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” became the most-viewed video, becoming the first video to reach 200 million views on May 9, 2010.[59]
Susan Wojcicki was appointed CEO of YouTube in February 2014.[61] In January 2016, YouTube expanded its headquarters in San Bruno by purchasing an office park for $215 million. The complex has 51,468 square metres (554,000 square feet) of space and can house up to 2,800 employees.[62] YouTube officially launched the “polymer” redesign of its user interfaces based on Material Design language as its default, as well as a redesigned logo that is built around the service’s play button emblem in August 2017.[63]
Through this period, YouTube tried several new ways to generate revenue beyond advertisements. In 2013, YouTube launched a pilot program for content providers to offer premium, subscription-based channels.[64][65] This effort was discontinued in January 2018 and relaunched in June, with US$4.99 channel subscriptions.[66][67] These channel subscriptions complemented the existing Super Chat ability, launched in 2017, which allows viewers to donate between $1 and $500 to have their comment highlighted.[68] In 2014, YouTube announced a subscription service known as “Music Key”, which bundled ad-free streaming of music content on YouTube with the existing Google Play Music service.[69] The service continued to evolve in 2015 when YouTube announced YouTube Red, a new premium service that would offer ad-free access to all content on the platform (succeeding the Music Key service released the previous year), premium original series, and films produced by YouTube personalities, as well as background playback of content on mobile devices. YouTube also released YouTube Music, a third app oriented towards streaming and discovering the music content hosted on the YouTube platform.[70][71][72]
The company also attempted to create products appealing to specific viewers. YouTube released a mobile app known as YouTube Kids in 2015, which was designed to provide an experience optimized for children. It features a simplified user interface, curated selections of channels featuring age-appropriate content, and parental control features.[73] Also in 2015, YouTube launched YouTube Gaming—a video gaming-oriented vertical and app for videos and live streaming, intended to compete with the Amazon.com-owned Twitch.[74]
The company was attacked on April 3, 2018, when a shooting occurred at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California, which wounded four and resulted in the death of the shooter.[75]
By February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube videos were being watched every day, and 400 hours worth of videos were uploaded every minute.[7][76] Two years later, the uploads had risen to more than 500 hours per minute.[8] During the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of the world was under stay-at-home orders, usage of services like YouTube significantly increased. One data firm[which?] estimated that YouTube was accounting for 15% of all internet traffic, twice its pre-pandemic level.[77] In response to EU officials requesting that such services reduce bandwidth as to make sure medical entities had sufficient bandwidth to share information, YouTube and Netflix said they would reduce streaming quality for at least thirty days as to cut bandwidth use of their services by 25% to comply with the EU’s request.[78] YouTube later announced that they would continue with this move worldwide: “We continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the globe to do our part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented situation.”[79]
After a 2018 complaint alleging violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA),[80] the company was fined $170 million by the FTC for collecting personal information from minors under the age of 13.[81] YouTube was also ordered to create systems to increase children’s privacy.[82][83] Following criticisms of its implementation of those systems, YouTube started treating all videos designated as “made for kids” as liable under COPPA on January 6, 2020.[84][85] Joining the YouTube Kids app, the company created a supervised mode, designed more for tweens, in 2021.[86] Additionally, to compete with TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube released YouTube Shorts, a short-form video platform.[87]
During that period, YouTube entered disputes with other tech companies. For over a year, in 2018 and 2019, no YouTube app was available for Amazon Fire products.[88] In 2020, Roku removed the YouTube TV app from its streaming store after the two companies were unable to reach an agreement.[89]
After testing earlier in 2021, YouTube removed public display of dislike counts on videos in November 2021, claiming the reason for the removal was, based on its internal research, that users often used the dislike feature as a form of cyberbullying and brigading.[90] While some users praised the move as a way to discourage trolls, others felt that hiding dislikes would make it harder for viewers to recognize clickbait or unhelpful videos and that other features already existed for creators to limit bullying. YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim referred to the update as “a stupid idea”, and that the real reason behind the change was “not a good one, and not one that will be publicly disclosed.” He felt that users’ ability on a social platform to identify harmful content was essential, saying, “The process works, and there’s a name for it: the wisdom of the crowds. The process breaks when the platform interferes with it. Then, the platform invariably declines.”[91][92][93] Shortly after the announcement, software developer Dmitry Selivanov created Return YouTube Dislike, an open-source, third-party browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that allows users to see a video’s number of dislikes.[94] In a letter published on January 25, 2022, by then YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, acknowledged that removing public dislike counts was a controversial decision, but reiterated that she stands by this decision, claiming that “it reduced dislike attacks.”[95]
In 2022, YouTube launched an experiment where the company would show users who watched longer videos on TVs a long chain of short unskippable adverts, intending to consolidate all ads into the beginning of a video. Following public outrage over the unprecedented amount of unskippable ads, YouTube “ended” the experiment on September 19 of that year.[96] In October, YouTube announced that they would be rolling out customizable user handles in addition to channel names, which would also become channel URLs.[97]
Recent history (2023–present)
YouTube logo from August 2017 until February 5th, 2025
On February 16, 2023, Wojcicki announced that she would step down as CEO, with Neal Mohan named as her successor. Wojcicki took on an advisory role for Google and parent company Alphabet.[98] Wojcicki died a year and a half later from non-small-cell lung cancer, on August 9, 2024.[99]
In late October 2023, YouTube began cracking down on the use of ad blockers on the platform. Users of ad blockers may be given a pop-up warning saying “Video player will be blocked after 3 videos”. Users of ad blockers are shown a message asking them to allow ads or inviting them to subscribe to the ad-free YouTube Premium subscription plan. YouTube says that the use of ad blockers violates its terms of service.[100][101] In April 2024, YouTube announced it would be “strengthening our enforcement on third-party apps that violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, specifically ad-blocking apps”.[102] Starting in June 2024, Google Chrome announced that it would be replacing Manifest V2 in favor of Manifest V3, effectively killing support for most ad-blockers.[103] Manifest V3 allows YouTube to inject the ads directly into the video, instead of having the ad as a separate file which can be blocked.[104]
In September 2023, YouTube announced an in-app gaming platform called Playables. It was made accessible to all users in May 2024, expanding from an initial offering limited to premium subscribers. In December 2024, YouTube began testing a new multiplayer feature for that service, supporting multiplayer functionality across desktop and mobile devices. As of December 2024 the Playables catalog has over 130 games in various genres including trivia, action and sports.[105][106]
In December 2024, YouTube introduced new guidelines prohibiting videos with clickbait titles to enhance content quality and combat misinformation. The platform aims to penalize creators using misleading or sensationalized titles, with potential actions including video removal or channel suspension.[107] According to YouTube, this guideline will gradually roll out in India first, but will expand to more countries in the coming months.[108]
On February 14, 2025, YouTube celebrated 20 years since its founding.
In April 2025, YouTube announced an expansion of its efforts to identify and manage AI-generated content that mimics the likeness of creators, artists, and influential figures. This includes detecting AI-generated faces and voices that could be used to deceive viewers. The company is also backing the NO FAKES Act, legislation aimed at addressing the misuse of AI replicas that simulate individuals’ images or voices to create harmful content.[109]
Damals gab es keine großen Produktionen, keine Sponsoren, keinen Algorithmus, den man durchspielen konnte. Nur ein paar Leute mit einer Kamera, einer Idee – und keiner Ahnung, was sie da eigentlich machten. Und plötzlich ging’s los. Diese Dokumentation erzählt die Geschichte der ersten Generationen von YouTube Deutschland. Von ihren ersten Schritten auf der Plattform bis zu den Momenten, in denen sie merkten: Okay, das hier ist größer, als wir dachten.
Does YouTube feel different lately? Do you feel like YouTubes comment section is hard to navigate and filled with spam? Do some of your comments magically disappear? Do you think YouTubes comment system is outdated and maybe even rigged against you? Well, you are not alone, and Zackary Smigel has the answer and explanation to all of these concerns and questions.
Does YouTube feel different lately? Are you getting slammed with ads on the content you watch? Maybe even this video? Are you irritated by ads and maybe even frustrated with YouTube’s monetization system? Well, you are not alone, and Zackary Smigel has the answer and explanation to all of these concerns and questions.
Does YouTube feel different lately? Are you getting recommended content you’re not interested in? Maybe even this video? Are you finding YouTube Search to be a complete mess? Are you irritated and perhaps even frustrated with YouTube’s “algorithm?” Well, you are not alone, and Zackary Smigel has the answer and explanation to all of these concerns and questions.
Does YouTube feel different lately? Are you getting recommended content you’re not interested in? Maybe even this video? Are you finding YouTube Search to be a complete mess? Are you irritated and perhaps even frustrated with YouTube’s “algorithm?” Well, you are not alone, and I have the answer and explanation to all of these concerns and questions. I’m dead serious. There’s an explainable answer to all these issues.
We begin this report at the very beginning… what happened so far? First there was nothing, then there was something. Space. Time. Things. Objects. Places. Life. Movement. Or to put in another way:
And then, there was YouTube. YouTube is today an American online video sharing and social media platform owned by Google. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is the second most visited website, right after Google itself. YouTube has more than one billion monthly users who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos each day. As of May 2019, videos were being uploaded at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute. This was the first video on YouTube:
In October 2006, YouTube was bought by Google for $1.65 billion. Google’s ownership of YouTube has also changed its business model; it no longer generates revenue from advertisements alone, YouTube now offers paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by YouTube. It also offers a paid subscription option for watching content without ads, YouTube Premium. YouTube and approved creators participate in Google’s AdSense program, which seeks to generate more revenue for both parties. YouTube’s reported revenue for 2020 was $19.8 billion.
Since its purchase by Google, YouTube has expanded beyond the core website into mobile apps, network television, and the ability to link with other platforms. Video categories on YouTube include music videos, video clips, news, short films, feature films, documentaries, audio recordings, movie trailers, teasers, live streams, vlogs, and more. Most content is generated by individuals. This includes collaborations between YouTubers and corporate sponsors. Established media corporations such as Disney, Paramount, and WarnerMedia have also created and expanded their corporate YouTube channels to advertise to a larger audience.
On YouTube and its competitors a new culture of film making grew. And this is where the next chapter of the story begins.
The Angry Video Game Nerd and Cinemassacre
The Angry Video Game Nerd (abbreviated as AVGN) is an American retrogaming review comedy web series created by and starring James Rolfe. The series centers on Rolfe’s titular skit character, often simply shortened to “the Nerd”, a short-tempered and foul-mouthed gamer who delivers commentary on retro games of poor quality. While the series began with Rolfe simply playing games while delivering a running commentary, the show would eventually grow in scope to encompass sketches featuring guest characters, reviews of gaming consoles and peripherals, and short lectures about video game history and culture. This is his story:
Logan Paul was a guy who went way too far in his videos. After his demise the so-called “Quality Programme” of YouTube, which restricted most YouTuber’s ad revenue.
If you only have one dimension available, things can get tiresome quickly. But maybe this coin has two sides. The creativity must not be limited. And that was exactly the idea when a couple of friends had something to discuss: Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, who were all early employees of PayPal. Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
The inspiration for a new kind of video website obviously first came from Janet Jackson’s role in 2004 Super Bowl incident when her breast was exposed during her performance, and later from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, which led to the idea of a video sharing site. Hurley and Chen said that the original idea was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. They created posts on Craigslist asking attractive women to upload videos of themselves to YouTube in exchange for a $100 reward. Difficulty in finding enough dating videos led to a change of plans, with the site’s founders deciding to accept uploads of any type of video.
Hurley and Chen developed the idea during the early months of 2005, after they had experienced difficulty sharing videos that had been shot at a dinner party at Chen’s apartment in San Francisco.
The domain name www.youtube.com was activated on February 14, 2005, and the website was developed over the subsequent months. The first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23, 2005.
You never know where things are going. But maybe it is worth adding a new location to this story. So there is a new department of the ASTROCOHORS CLUB:
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