Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- It’s been 20 years since the first YouTube video was ever uploaded.
- The video, “Me at the zoo,” was uploaded by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005.
On April 23, 2005, exactly 20 years ago today, a low-resolution, 18-second video titled “Me at the zoo” quietly went up and launched what would become the biggest video platform on the planet — YouTube. Uploaded on April 23, 2005, the tiny clip features Jawed Karim, one of YouTube’s co-founders, casually talking about elephants at the San Diego Zoo.
By today’s standards of YouTube videos, “Me at the zoo” is quite an underwhelming watch. There’s no production quality, no audio mastering, nothing but a 25-year-old software engineer pointing to elephants behind him and saying, “The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long trunks.”
Unknowingly, though, Karim was making internet history. The video, which now has over 355 million views, is a symbol of YouTube’s beginnings and the start of the era of video content.
From trunks to trends: The zoo only got wilder
Two decades after Jawed uploaded the first YouTube video, the platform remains an ever-evolving beast. What started with one man and a couple of elephants now amounts to over 500 hours of content uploaded every minute! Actually, we’re pretty sure the number is higher, and YouTube just hasn’t updated its stats in a while. In 2025, content on YouTube includes everything from personal vlogs to billion-view music videos, live streams, podcasts, documentaries, Shorts, and now, even AI-generated videos! A 25-year-old Jawed would certainly not have imagined this!
To mark the anniversary of “Me at the zoo,” YouTube has even added a tiny cake slider to the video, along with an elephant icon that takes you to Jawed’s YouTube channel. He only has this one video up, by the way, and 5.34 million subscribers! In February this year, he changed the video’s description to draw attention to the dangers of microplastics.
In many ways, today’s YouTube is a massive zoo in its own right. It’s a chaotic, colorful, and often overwhelming space filled with content, both good and absolutely terrible. But that’s the beauty of YouTube. It’s algorithm-driven madness and a necessity at the same time.
A platform that changed everything
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Over the years, YouTube has branched out far beyond its original concept of a video streaming platform. It has become one of the cornerstones of internet culture, with the launch of sub-platforms and services like YouTube Music, YouTube Kids, YouTube TV, and YouTube Premium.
Can you imagine — back in 2005, watching YouTube videos in 240p or 360p was the norm! Fast-forward to 2025, and the platform now supports 4K, 8K, HDR, and even VR videos.
And while YouTube faces increasing criticism over the ad-serving giant it has become, it remains one of the most influential and culture-defining platforms in the history of the internet. Twenty years in, and YouTube doesn’t appear to be slowing down. It may not be evolving to everyone’s liking, but it’s certainly having a moment thanks to the rise of the short video format. Come to think of it, “Me at the zoo” is a YouTube Short in spirit, and a reminder that anyone, anywhere on the planet, can upload something that could change the world.
