YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the first YouTube video “Me at the zoo” on April 24, 2005. Jawed Karim (born in 1979) worked at Paypal, where he met his future YouTube founders (Steve Chen, born in 1978 & Chad Hurley, born in 1977).
According to Jawed Karim, the inspiration for YouTube came when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed during halftime for the Super Bowl. Karim could not find the video clip anywhere online, so the idea to have a place to share privately recorded videos on the internet was born.
It was February 2005 when Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim debuted their invention. Karim posted the video of his visit to the elephant exhibit at a zoo in San Diego. The video has 85 million views as of today.
In November 2006, the investors became millionaires when they sold YouTube for $1.65 billion to the search engine, Google.
“Youtube is the most valuable storytelling outlet our planet has ever seen” and its CEO Susan Wojcicki is “the visionary behind YouTube’s next evolution,” as Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer writes in the 2015 TIME 100 issue which recognizes Wojcicki as a “Titan” in the tech industry.
Takeaway:
Solve a problem that will affect many people for the better. Each day write the ideas that you come up with in the morning. This sets the stage for creativity and inspiration that will carry throughout your day. Solve some problems today.
Sources:
Bellis, Mary. (2020, February 11). The Creation of YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-youtube-1992691
Waxman, Olivia. (2005, April 23). The First YouTube Video Was Uploaded 10 Years Ago. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-youtube-1992691://time.com/3833222/first-youtube-video/
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