20 years ago, the first videos uploaded to YouTube were short and sweet

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Two decades ago, YouTube wasn’t about the elaborate long-form content pumped out by creators like MrBeast. There wasn’t any fancy lighting, sound effects, or jump cuts. The platform’s first video, “Me at the Zoo,” was uploaded to YouTube on April 23rd, 2005. It’s a mere 19 seconds long, featuring YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of a pair of elephants at the San Diego Zoo. “Alright, so here we are, in front of the elephants,” Karim says, while glancing back at the elephants. The video offers a brief glimpse of one wrapping hay around its trunk and placing it in its mouth. “The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long um… trunks, and that’s cool,” Karim says, gesturing. He looks back at the elephants one last time. “And that’s pretty much all there is to say.” (Karim uploaded another video, ... Read full article.