20th anniversary of the first YouTube video

Today marks a historic day in the evolution of social media, as YouTube, the world’s second-largest search engine after Google, celebrates 20 years since its inception. The platform began as a simple space for sharing videos and has since transformed into a global hub for creativity, entertainment, education, and information.

For those unfamiliar with its beginnings, the very first video uploaded to YouTube was by Jawed Karim, one of the platform’s co-founders. The video, titled “Me at the zoo”, is just 19 seconds long and features Karim standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo, casually talking about their trunks.

What began as a modest clip quickly gained legendary status. Today, “Me at the zoo” has garnered over 355 million views and has received more than 10 million comments, making it one of the most iconic videos on the internet.