Communication · 2005

Online video (YouTube)

Anyone can broadcast: 'Me at the zoo' opens a platform with billions of viewers.

YouTube's first video was uploaded in April 2005 by co-founder Jawed Karim; Google bought it in 2006. Cheap cameras and broadband turned audiences into creators, and over 500 hours of video are now uploaded every minute.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 3

World Wide Web 1991
Digital camera 1975
Television 1927

What it led to 2

Algorithmic short video (TikTok) 2016
Streaming overtakes broadcast TV 2025

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people Latest: 20.1 per 100 people (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Share of people online Latest: 73.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data