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From humble beginnings to global media giant! Join us as we explore the incredible journey of YouTube over the past two decades. Our breakdown covers everything from "Me at the zoo" to billion-hour viewing milestones, Google's historic acquisition, and the rise of creator culture that changed entertainment forever. Which transformation shocked you the most?
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00:00It's 1pm on a random Monday afternoon. You're on your lunch break, you've got 20 minutes to kill.
00:04What are you watching? Probably YouTube, right?
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're breaking down YouTube's rise from humble beginnings to
00:12media juggernaut. Whether you've been creating for years or just getting started, you can
00:17instantly reach and entertain new audiences with our shorts creation tools. The birth of YouTube.
00:25You know, people have different video types, video codecs that you have to download,
00:29different software. So, you know, we sort of took a look at, with all the digital cameras now,
00:35with phones being able to take movies, that this was going to be more and more of a problem for
00:39other people, and we try to make and simplify this process to make it as easy as possible to share
00:44these videos online. In February 2005, three former PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawad
00:52Kareem, registered a new domain, youtube.com. The idea was simple yet revolutionary. Give
00:59anyone the power to upload and share videos instantly. At a time when broadband was still
01:04emerging, YouTube's user-friendly interface and flash-based player made online video accessible
01:10for the first time. The site's called youtube.com, and that's Y-O-U, and it's just a place where you
01:16go, it's kind of like Flickr for videos, if you think of it like that, because you're actually able
01:19to tag your videos, and what we mean is, you know, assign keywords to your videos. That's all the rage
01:24with Flickr. Yes, it is. Why is tagging so popular? I think it's an easy way for you to categorize the
01:29content, as well as an easy way for other people who are interested in that type of content to search
01:32for that content. Within months, millions of clips were uploaded, marking a turning point in how people
01:38consumed and created media. It wasn't just another startup, it was the foundation of the creator economy.
01:44YouTube proved that broadcasting didn't need studios. It needed servers, vision, and community.
01:50Well, initially, we started developing the site in February of 2005. By May, we had the initial
01:55version of the site up and running, and it was just personal clips that we were using with our
02:01friends, and, you know, just the viral nature of what we created, the easy-to-use features, the ways
02:06that people could grab links and embed these videos directly into their blogs and websites, it spread.
02:12Me at the Zoo, the video that started it all.
02:16All right, so here we are, one of the elephants. Cool thing about these guys is that they have
02:22really, really, really long trunks, and that's cool. And that's pretty much all there is to say.
02:34On April 23rd, 2005, co-founder Karim uploaded a 19-second video titled Me at the Zoo. In it,
02:41he casually remarks on elephants' long trunks while standing at the San Diego Zoo. It's not flashy,
02:48rehearsed, or edited, just authentic. That simplicity symbolized the magic of YouTube's
02:53early days, ordinary people sharing ordinary moments. Me at the Zoo was never intended to
02:59start a media revolution, but it did. Nearly two decades later, it's viewed as a digital Rosetta
03:05Stone, the first proof that personal storytelling could thrive online without legacy media gatekeepers.
03:11Today, the video remains live, preserved as the artifact that launched a global phenomenon.
03:17All right, so here we are, one of the elephants. Cool thing about these guys is that they have
03:23really, really, really, really long trunks, and that's cool. And that's pretty much all there is to say.
03:34From dating site to video revolution.
03:36YouTube itself was the idea, the domain name was registered on, I remember this, Valentine's Day 2005.
03:44How did that come up? What, like, you wake up in the morning and you're like…
03:48There were three guys behind YouTube and Valentine's Day, we didn't have anything to do,
03:51so we were sitting in the garage together.
03:53Believe it or not, YouTube wasn't always envisioned as a video platform. In its earliest concept,
03:59Hurley, Chen, and Kareem imagined it as a video-based dating site where users could post clips
04:04introducing themselves. But when hardly anybody signed up, they pivoted fast.
04:09But I mean, the story that you told me yesterday was that YouTube started as an online video dating
04:16site for one week. That was the original idea.
04:19Well, there was a, I think, there's definitely…
04:22Did I get that wrong? Or, I mean, that's something that you told me that I thought was pretty interesting.
04:25Yeah, that was what I told you, but I didn't think we'd be talking about it on stage.
04:29That's the whole point. That's why we're here.
04:31The team allowed uploads to any topic, and the floodgates opened. Suddenly, comedy sketches,
04:37news clips, and vlogs poured in. That flexibility became YouTube's defining strength. Within months,
04:44it shifted from niche experiment to viral engine. The pivot from tune-in hookup to a universal
04:50sharing platform ranks among Silicon Valley's smartest course corrections. That move transformed
04:55YouTube from an eHarmony wannabe into a storytelling juggernaut.
04:59So we always thought there was something with video there, right? It was kind of the obvious
05:03next step beyond photos, beyond sort of text and images. But we started thinking about what would
05:12the actual… So that was kind of the underlying technology layer. So what would be the actual
05:17practical application that we could layer on top of that?
05:20The PayPal mafia's role in YouTube's creation.
05:23Did you leave that dinner party and say, you know, all of us have jobs? Well, three of you, right?
05:28Yes. Three of you, all from PayPal?
05:30That's correct.
05:31Correct, yeah.
05:32Did you walk out of that dinner party saying, there's a business here? There's a company here?
05:36Unlike tech titans, Apple, and Microsoft, YouTube didn't emerge from a garage. It came out of
05:42PayPal's entrepreneurial brain trust. Hurley, Chen, and Kareem had cut their teeth at the fintech
05:47giant during the dot-com boom, alongside figures who'd later lead Tesla, LinkedIn, and Palantir.
05:53This PayPal mafia, as Silicon Valley dubbed them, shared a belief in disruption, speed,
05:59and risk-taking.
06:00And touching on our experience at PayPal, we saw the power of simplifying a process and
06:07giving everyone a solution. So in that case, being early employees there, we did that for
06:12payments, and we saw the same opportunity here in the video space.
06:15That ethos carried into YouTube's DNA. Build fast, scale faster, and let the users define
06:22the product. Their connections also helped secure early funding and credibility in a
06:27crowded startup market. YouTube wasn't just another social site. It was the next evolution
06:32of tech's startup culture, incubated by one of the most influential professional networks
06:37in history. We have a team in place that's allowed us to have this architecture from day
06:42one, so we can scale and keep up with growth, and keep that under control, because we've
06:47built our own technology. And what would you like to see it become? The world's great marketplace
06:52for your own videos? Yeah, in essence, yes. We see ourselves building the next generation
06:59platform to serve media worldwide. Hitting 100 million videos. YouTube's early explosion.
07:05According to the site's managers, YouTube attracts upwards of 30 million visitors a day, who upload
07:11as many as 30,000 different clips. By 2006, YouTube was on its way to becoming the Internet's
07:23hottest destination. Just a year after launch, users were uploading more than 65,000 new videos
07:29per day, and watching over 100 million clips daily. That kind of growth was unheard of.
07:35Faster than MySpace, faster than Facebook. The site's viral hits, Lazy Sunday, Evolution
07:41of Dance, Charlie Bit My Finger, defined mid-2000s internet culture, and turned average users
07:48into overnight celebrities. But that success also brought headaches, copyright lawsuits,
08:01bandwidth costs, and the looming need for infrastructure. YouTube's exponential expansion proved its cultural
08:07value, but revealed that it would need a corporate backer to survive. That realization paved the way for
08:13Google's historic buyout.
08:15Hi, YouTube. This is Chad and Steve. We're the co-founders of the site.
08:19And we just want to say thank you. Today we have some exciting news for you. We've been acquired by Google.
08:24Yeah, thanks. Thanks to every one of you guys that have been contributing to YouTube, the community.
08:29We wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are without the help of this community. Thanks a lot.
08:35Google's $1.65 billion bet pays off.
08:39Web giant Google will pay $1.6 billion to gobble up YouTube, a company created over dinner by 20-somethings
08:48Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, as a way to share their home movies. The most compelling part of this is
08:54being able to really concentrate on features and functionality for the community.
08:59In October of 2006, Google made one of the boldest acquisitions in tech history. It bought YouTube
09:05for $1.65 billion in stock. At the time, YouTube was barely a year old, had no clear profit model,
09:13and faced mounting copyright complaints from major media companies. Critics called it reckless.
09:18Google called it visionary. More than a success, YouTube's become a social phenomenon. Nearly half
09:24of all the videos viewed online are watched on YouTube. But analysts say the website has yet to
09:30make a profit. It's not clear whether, you know, the competitive advantage YouTube has is something
09:36that can be sustained for days, let alone months and years. And that, of course, becomes the big problem
09:41for a $1.6 billion acquisition. Within months, YouTube gained access to Google's powerful ad
09:46infrastructure, video compression technology, and cloud capacity, thus laying the groundwork for
09:52the sprawling digital ecosystem we know today. Its two founders are both 33 years old. YouTube's
09:59founders are 27 and 29. It is a young person's game. The videos are quick. The fortunes are huge,
10:07even though they just don't make media empires the way they used to. Nearly two decades later,
10:12that billion-dollar gamble looks like a no-brainer. YouTube is now valued in the hundreds of billions,
10:18and remains, by a wide margin, the most successful acquisition in Google's history. The birth of the
10:24Partner Program. Your creativity deserves to be rewarded. That's why the YouTube Partner Program
10:31offers more ways to make money from your channel and community than anywhere else. Let's walk through
10:37how to qualify, apply, and get approved, and what becomes available to you once you're in.
10:43Launched in 2007, the YouTube Partner Program fundamentally transformed the internet.
10:49For the first time, creators could earn a share of ad revenue from their videos.
10:54To earn with fan funding and certain shopping features, the thresholds are 500 subscribers,
11:003 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 valid public watch hours in the past
11:06year or 3 million valid public shorts views in the last 90 days. That simple idea, splitting ad income
11:13with users, turned hobbyists into entrepreneurs and gave rise to the modern influencer economy. Within years,
11:20YouTubers were rivaling traditional celebrities in reach and influence. Part of our requirements is
11:25to make sure that you have enough of an audience that you can be successful in making money. And that
11:28means that you have to find a content that really resonates with the audience. You have to find kind
11:34of some loyal following for people watching your content. And so the best advice is, don't think about
11:40the money. Just make good content. Channels like Smosh, Nigahiga, and Shane Dawson proved that success
11:47could come from creativity rather than connections. The partner program also laid the foundation for
11:52later features like memberships and super chats. It didn't just democratize fame, it democratized income.
11:59YouTube wasn't just a platform anymore, it was an economy. Once you get into YPP, there's a lot more
12:04things that you have to think about. You have to think about all the different monetization options
12:09which you lean into. Again, our ads product require you to be brand safe. Advertisers don't want to be
12:18associated with content that is not ads friendly. Going HD, a clearer YouTube arrives in 2009.
12:27When YouTube added support for 720p high definition video in 2009, it marked a turning point in both
12:33quality and perception. Gone were the grainy low-res clips of early viral videos. Suddenly,
12:39YouTube could host cinematic content. HD made the platform viable for professional filmmakers,
12:45musicians, and brands, bridging the gap between amateur uploads and broadcast-quality productions.
12:51This upgrade also encouraged creators to invest in better cameras and editing,
12:56elevating the look and feel of YouTube videos. By 2010, the site was rolling out 1080p,
13:02and by mid-decade, 4K. The introduction of HD wasn't just a technical step, it legitimized YouTube
13:08as a credible cottage industry for serious artistry. Going live, from streaming to mainstream.
13:14Live streaming on YouTube is a great way to connect with your audience in real time. Whether you're
13:19streaming an event, teaching a class, playing video games, performing for your fans, or hosting a Q&A,
13:26YouTube has all of the tools that will help you manage your stream and engage with your
13:31community in real time with live chat. In 2011, YouTube entered the live streaming era. After
13:38testing limited broadcasts, including concerts and political debates, the company rolled out YouTube
13:43Live, allowing select partners to stream in real time. Live streaming is challenging because the video
13:49content is sent over the internet in near real time. Video processing is compute intensive. Sending a large
13:56volume of video content over the internet takes time. These factors make live streaming challenging.
14:03For audiences, it meant unprecedented access. For creators, it offered a new layer of interaction.
14:08Over time, the feature opened to gamers, vloggers, and event organizers, helping YouTube compete with
14:14Twitch and Facebook Live. Today, live streaming is a cornerstone of the platform. From sports events to
14:21breaking news, it turned YouTube into both a broadcast network and a social hub where creators
14:27could engage their audiences instantly and around the world. There are several factors a streamer or
14:32the live streaming platform could tune to improve this latency by sacrificing various aspects of the video
14:39quality. Some platforms simplify this tuning process by providing a coarse knob for the streamer to
14:46choose the level of interactivity they desire. YouTube Red and the premium era begin.
14:52So you can see I've got YouTube Red up here, which means I'm logged in as a subscriber. So it's just
14:56like ordinary YouTube. The only difference is when I click on a video, it loads up with no ads. It's
15:01kind of a surreal experience. It's like driving without a speed limit. By the mid-2010s, YouTube was looking to
15:06diversify beyond ads. In 2015, it launched YouTube Red, a subscription service offering ad-free viewing,
15:14offline downloads, and exclusive original shows. The initiative, later rebranded as YouTube Premium,
15:21reflected a shift toward Netflix-style content, with high-profile projects featuring creators like
15:27PewDiePie, Logan Paul, and Liza Koshy.
15:30You'll have two hours to complete the test. All grades are final.
15:36Here are the results. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no.
15:40Linda Michaels. What? Ellie Harper.
15:49We have to do something, Dad. I'm sorry son, my hands are tied.
15:52While YouTube originals never quite rivaled Hollywood, the move signaled ambition.
16:10YouTube wasn't just a platform for creators, it was a studio too.
16:14More importantly, premium subscriptions gave viewers choice and creators another revenue stream,
16:20stabilizing the ecosystem after the ad revenue volatility of the decade prior.
16:25To put it simply, I watch a ton of YouTube.
16:28It was my number one go-to platform for everything from podcasts, to politics, to current events, to gaming news, tech reviews, you name it, I'm watching it on YouTube.
16:38And my stats do back that up.
16:40I have over 7,000 hours of ad-free videos, over 2,000 hours of listening time on YouTube music, and over 600 videos watched offline.
16:49GANGAM STYLE AND THE BILLION VIEW BREAKTHROUGH
17:00On December 21, 2012, GANGAM STYLE, by South Korean artist Sy, became the first YouTube video to surpass 1 billion views, a milestone once thought impossible.
17:11The song's quirky dance and satirical energy spread like wildfire, captivating audiences everywhere, and redefining what viral meant.
17:24YouTube's counter even briefly broke, forcing Google to upgrade its view-tracking systems to handle higher numbers.
17:30Sy's electro-rap smash wasn't just a pop phenomenon, it proved YouTube's global reach and power to unite cultures through humor and music.
17:39Overnight, Sy became an ambassador for the platform's international influence, and the phrase, Billion View Club, entered the lexicon of the digital age.
17:48The scale of that is just huge. Google points out that an individual attempting to rack up 1 billion hours of YouTube watching would have to find a playlist that was 100,000 years long.
18:07By 2017, YouTube announced a staggering statistic. Users were watching over 1 billion hours of video every single day.
18:16To put that in perspective, that's more viewing time than any television network in history.
18:21The number solidified YouTube as arguably the dominant entertainment platform, eclipsing traditional media in both scale and influence.
18:29Whether we're talking Disney+, or Hulu, or Paramount+, you look at who's still growing, growing the greatest share year over year, it is insane that YouTube is still dominating the growth rate, even despite their size.
18:44Any competitor for time and attention is obviously not good for streamers.
18:49From tutorials and news to gaming and music, YouTube became a one-stop hub for everything visual.
18:55Watching YouTube was no longer internet time-wasting, it had become part of daily life.
19:01The milestone underscored how the site had transitioned from scrappy upstart to a full-fledged media institution.
19:07So they have two modalities, the traditional, you know, horizontal video, they have the vertical video, they have the personalization engine that I think is kicking in in a big way.
19:15That is increasingly one of the biggest and fastest-growing platforms we're on, and when people are sitting down to watch TV, they're increasingly turning on YouTube.
19:22And you see a lot of what you'd expect, which is that they are watching longer sessions, longer content.
19:28Billions of users, billions of voices.
19:30A milestone for one of the world's most watched websites.
19:34YouTube now says that nearly one out of every two internet users visits its site each month, either to view or upload videos.
19:43Two decades after its founding, YouTube now boasts over 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide.
19:50The platform reaches more than 100 countries, supports 80 languages, and represents nearly every demographic on Earth.
19:57Its accessibility, available on phones, TVs, and computers, turned YouTube into a digital record where anyone can share their story, talent, or opinion.
20:06Undoubtedly, we're moving to an on-demand world, and the younger generation spend a lot more time watching videos on demand,
20:15rather than just plonking themselves in front of a TV remote and flicking.
20:19It's a very different way of consuming media.
20:22This immense reach has empowered independent journalism, launched superstars, and reshaped entertainment industries.
20:28But it also brings challenges, moderation, misinformation, and content diversity on a planetary scale.
20:35YouTube's size is both its strength and its burden.
20:38An open stage for billions, and a mirror reflecting the complexity of modern society.
20:43YouTube sees about 3.7 million new videos uploaded to its platform daily.
20:49That's more than 271,000 hours of fresh content each day.
20:54The responsibility of content generation falls solely on creators, not the company, saving YouTube billions of dollars.
21:01The reigning king of subscribers.
21:03Yeah, you did it very nice, and all it took was a massive corporate entity with every song in Bollywood.
21:11Now you're at number one, hope you did nothing wrong like starting your business by selling pirated songs.
21:17Oops, didn't think we'd see, it's right there on Wikipedia, get used to your past being held against you by the media.
21:24Subscriber counts became YouTube's version of trophies, and few rivalries illustrated that better than the PewDiePie vs. T-Series race of 2018-19.
21:34The Swedish gamer and the Indian music label battled for the title of most subscribed channel, drawing attention to YouTube's diverse audience.
21:42In the mid-2020s, T-Series was usurped by Mr. Beast, whose high-budget stunts made him the biggest individual creator in history.
21:50What did this all come to be?
21:51I just started making videos when I was 11, and I'm 26 now, and we went from 10 views a video, to 100 views, to 1,000 views a video, and now over 100 million people watching.
22:01He's not expecting this!
22:03And now Mr. Beast has over 360 million subscribers, and a loyal fan base.
22:09The competition highlighted YouTube's evolution from Western-centric platform to truly global stage. Subscriptions became the new Nielsen ratings, and subscriber milestones became markers of digital prestige once reserved for Hollywood stars.
22:23What, if any, pressure do you feel, knowing how many people, especially young people, are watching what you do?
22:32A lot. I recognize we have, you know, a lot of people that look up to us. Basically, like, one, two, three percent of, like, humans alive will watch most of these videos.
22:41The most disliked video ever.
22:43When YouTube released its annual Rewind 2018 recap, it expected another celebratory montage. Instead, it became the most disliked video in the planet.
23:13It became the most disliked video in the world's history, earning over 20 million thumbs down.
23:17Critics and creators accused the video of being tone-deaf, overly sanitized, and disconnected from the community it was meant to celebrate.
23:25Absent were many of the year's biggest creators, replaced by corporate sponsors and content blasted by users as safe, sanitized, and painfully out of touch.
23:35Apparently, we control Rewind this year. Y'all, we can do whatever we want. What do we do?
23:43Well, you clearly messed up, didn't you? This is why you don't leave it up to the YouTubers.
23:51The backlash was unprecedented, forcing YouTube to confront its widening disconnect with users.
23:57Rewind 2018 became a symbol of the growing tension between creative authenticity and corporate control,
24:03proof that even the world's largest platform could lose touch with its audience.
24:07Yeah, I have a feeling this is about to get really a bit crazy. Let's give the people what they want.
24:13Dude, the adpocalypse shakes the platform.
24:16Alright guys, let's check out how my last video did. Maybe it's still monetized.
24:22Ah! 31? 31 dollars?
24:25Oh, oh no. The adpocalypse.
24:28In 2017, YouTube faced one of its biggest crises, the adpocalypse. Major advertisers pulled their ads
24:36after discovering they were appearing alongside extremist or offensive videos. In response,
24:42YouTube overhauled its algorithms and imposed stricter monetization rules.
24:46A bunch of advertisers fearing backlash removed their ads entirely from YouTube, and during this period,
24:52every YouTuber saw a decrease in revenue. Also, Google's valuation dropped by, like,
24:56750 million dollars in a day. How big? It's fun.
24:59Overnight, thousands of creators saw their ad revenue vanish, sparking outrage and anxiety
25:05across the community. The scandal forced YouTube to balance creative freedom with corporate safety,
25:10reshaping the site's business model in the process.
25:13Now, YouTube has a few different systems that put content into buckets. They have a manual bucket,
25:17that's like hand-picked channels, like Crash Course, where they can say, this is good,
25:21advertisers, it's safe, go here, it's very expensive. And then they have an algorithmic bucket,
25:24that's like, no ads on any of this stuff ever, because it's about marijuana smoking or whatever.
25:29And then there's a middle area, where it's confusing and no one knows how it works at all.
25:33It also marked the moment when algorithms, not audiences, began deciding who got paid
25:38and who didn't. The adpocalypse forever changed YouTube's relationship with its creators,
25:43reminding everyone that even free platforms come with a price.
25:47Yes, YouTube is an amazing platform for you to monetize your content and create your own business,
25:52but it's not like a traditional job and it probably shouldn't be even looked at in that sense.
25:58Yes, you don't get healthcare. Yes, you have to work insane hours and you make up your own time.
26:04And yes, you don't have any form of job safety and it's really all up to you.
26:09YouTube and the power of political movements.
26:12The ability to record footage on mobile phones and to transmit it within instance poses both
26:18opportunities and dangers as well, because on the one hand, you're able to get footage from places
26:24where you can't be, but there's the big problem of verification.
26:27From the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter, YouTube became a credible platform for political expression.
26:33Activists used it to document protests, amplify marginalized voices and expose injustice in real time.
26:40The video sharing site also gave rise to political commentators,
26:44independent journalists and grassroots movements that bypassed legacy media entirely.
26:49But that power came with risk. Misinformation, radicalization and echo chambers flourished in equal
26:56measure. YouTube's open nature made it a democratizing force and a destabilizing one.
27:02Whether hosting dissidents or debates, YouTube has been both a reflection and an engine of modern
27:07politics, proving that a platform designed for entertainment can also shape the course of history.
27:13It's incredibly difficult for the international news media to understand entirely and instantly
27:20what's going on. No one else did, so why would the journalists? And the speed and the rapidity,
27:26both of the events and of the news cycle and news process at the moment, makes it even harder.
27:32From phones to flat screens, YouTube hits it big. YouTube started as a website for desktop users.
27:39Two decades later, it's a fixture of living room entertainment. By the early 2020s, YouTube reported
27:45that viewers were watching over a billion hours of content per day on TV screens alone.
27:49YouTube isn't just popular, it is basically essential. YouTube is the second most visited
27:55website in the world with over 28.5 billion visits every month. But Netflix is sitting way back
28:00here at number 26 with only 1.9 billion. What a loser. But it's not just about the clicks. When
28:06people go on YouTube, it's been documented that they stay nearly three times longer than they do on
28:11Netflix. Smart TVs, streaming devices, and console apps transformed YouTube into Earth's most-watched
28:18television network without ever calling itself one. Its content library now competes directly with
28:24Netflix, Disney Plus, and cable. Whether you're watching documentaries, podcasts, or creator content,
28:31YouTube has cemented its place on the big screen. What began as grainy clips on a 13-inch monitor
28:37now defines the modern viewing experience. First up, YouTube is now the most-watched streaming
28:42platform on TV. In January alone, it accounted for 8.6 percent of all TV streaming time in the US,
28:48while Netflix sat at 7.9. Which is, that blew my mind. I was like, YouTube beat Netflix? It sure did.
28:55The rise of YouTube Shorts. First, what are Shorts? Shorts are a new video experience that let you watch
29:02and create short, catchy videos right from your phone. They're vertical videos 60 seconds or less,
29:09and provide an easy, lightweight way to create. Plus, they connect you to YouTube's 2 billion users,
29:16giving them a new, customized viewing experience. In 2021, YouTube faced an existential challenge,
29:22TikTok. The short-form video craze was pulling users and ad dollars away fast. YouTube responded
29:29with Shorts, a new vertical video format optimized for mobile. The gamble worked. People are watching
29:35more and more Shorts around the globe. The YouTube Shorts player has now surpassed 6.5 billion daily views
29:42globally. With its own separate viewing experience, think of it as an additional way for you to create
29:48and reach new audiences who've maybe never seen your content before.
29:52Within two years, Shorts was generating tens of billions of daily views,
29:56helping YouTube reclaim its younger audience while integrating seamlessly into the main app.
30:01For creators, it offered discoverability and revenue-sharing opportunities previously
30:06exclusive to long-form content. Shorts didn't just imitate TikTok, it fused short attention spans
30:12with YouTube's vast ecosystem. Once again, YouTube adapted to a changing internet,
30:18proving that the platform had the juice to reinvent itself and lead the pack.
30:22No matter what I do, no one at school wants to be friends with me.
30:27Yeah, I literally can't relate to that problem at all, but you know who no one likes?
30:31Hey, Mammo!
30:33Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
30:37about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
30:43If you're on your phone, make sure you go into settings and switch on your notifications.
30:49Google's billion-dollar gamble 20 years later. Two decades after its launch, YouTube stands as
30:55Google's greatest investment and arguably the most transformative media platform ever built.
31:01What began as a chaotic hub for home videos has evolved into a $200 billion cultural institution,
31:07spanning entertainment, education, politics, and art. YouTube has outlived countless rivals,
31:14launched careers, and rewritten how we share information. But it's also wrestling with the
31:19responsibilities of its unexpected scale. Content moderation, AI integration, and the future of
31:25advertising. 20 years on, YouTube isn't just a website, it's the modern public square.
31:30Google's nearly $2 billion gamble did more than pay off, it changed everything.
31:36What does it mean for the user community?
31:41Kings? Two kings have gotten together. The king of search, the king of video,
31:47have gotten together. We're gonna have it our way.
31:49Which YouTube fact shocked you the most? Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the
32:01comments below!
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2:28
19:42
16:03
14:26
10:07
10:50
1:09
9:12
1:30:20
20:50
2:15
12:38
12:23
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