Words by Katie Kasperson
VOD is now an established media consumption model. We look back at the major online player that helped originate the concept – and how it’s doing now
hough they initially designed a video-based dating site called Tune In, Hook Up, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed
updates, YouTube remains first and foremost a platform for the masses. Vloggers, streamers and broadcasters alike can reap the rewards this site has to offer. 2007: PARTNERS IN CRIME YouTube quickly realised its greatest asset was creators. The late noughties were dominated by the rise in internet culture, from Myspace and YouTube to Tumblr, followed by Instagram, Snapchat and Vine. And while each platform has a social aspect, it also has a creative one. Everyday people could become photographers, writers, videographers, designers, comedians and influencers. Creators weren’t just bound by the limits of a single platform. There was plenty of crossover between being Tumblr famous, going viral on Vine and even finding yourself branded as a YouTuber. Ordinary people became microcelebrities or online personalities. Even some extraordinary people did. Josh Peck, best known for sitcom Drake & Josh , is considered a YouTuber by occupation as well as an actor and comedian. He has over 3.5 million subscribers. But is being a YouTuber really an occupation, or just a hobby? The
Karim soon spotted a more significant gap in the market. After searching for a clip from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, they realised no major video-sharing platform existed on the internet. Thus, in 2005, YouTube was born. Today, it’s the second- most popular website – receiving 32.7 billion views in April 2023 alone – and the third-most downloaded entertainment app worldwide. Known for everything from cats and cucumbers to music videos, from fan-created compilations to day-in- the-life vlogs, the platform is a one- stop shop for video content. It has single-handedly catapulted careers; infamous music exec Scooter Braun accidentally clicked Justin Bieber’s cover of Chris Brown’s With You and the rest was history. Celebrities like Emma Chamberlain and Troye Sivan also got their starts on the platform; at 21, Chamberlain has ranked number five on Forbes ’ Top Creators and has over 12 million YouTube subscribers. Though it’s seen 18 years’ worth of redesigns, spinoffs and software
WATCH ME! The first video shared was ‘Me at the zoo,’ uploaded
by co-founder Jawed Karim
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