How Youtube Changed the World

It is common knowledge that the internet has changed the world pretty dramatically. However, while many people know that the internet has changed the world, a large number of people don’t actually know how these internet websites started or their true effect. Specifically, YouTube has changed the way that information is shared via video entertainment.

A lot of people don’t know that YouTube was originally created by three former PayPal employees, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim as an online dating site, named “Tune in, Hook Up.” Unfortunately, “Tune in, Hook Up” did not find its soulmate and the project failed spectacularly. Nevertheless, the site was an excellent platform for sharing videos, so the three former Paypal employees rebranded the failed dating site as YouTube. They uploaded the first video, Me at the zoo, and released the platform to the public on April 23, 2005.

It took less than a month for YouTube to see an average of 30,000 users a day. About six months later, that number was around 2 million. By the end of 2005 YouTube was seeing an average of 25 million views daily. In October 2006, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 Billion dollars. However, the popularity of YouTube continued to skyrocket. By the time 2008 rolled around, the site was receiving 160 million views monthly. In 2012 that number clocked in at 800 million. In 2013 YouTube was receiving about 1 billion views monthly. Just 7 years later, in 2020, YouTube crossed the 2 Billion mark. Statista.com notes that In 2021 alone google made a whopping 28 billion dollars off YouTube.

But how has YouTube changed the world? Well, for starters, YouTube has completely revolutionized the music scene. One article written by Caleb Denison talks about how a failed dating site (Youtube) became the king of online videos, notes Justin Biber is a great example of the power of YouTube. His first appearance on the platform was when his mother uploaded a video of 13-year-old Justin Bieber singing, 3 years later, and he is selling out Maddison Square Garden in a matter of minutes. Not only has YouTube brought new People into the Music industry, but it also has skyrocketed some struggling artists into the limelight. For example, South Korean singer Psy had produced five albums with little to no success. The sixth album, however, cemented him in the YouTube history books when Gangnam Style went viral in 2012 and spent nearly five years as the most-watched video on YouTube. Still to this day, anyone can check that, 10 years later it is the 11th most-watched video on YouTube, with a whopping 4.3 Billion Views. While these two cases are fairly extreme, various other artists have had success on the platform as well. The main reason behind this youtube music scene is because the platform allows smaller, more independent artists to partner with YouTube and earn a share of the ad revenue their videos generate, in turn, benefiting them directly.

While YouTube has definitely changed the music industry, it has also changed education. With “how-to videos” on the rise, a lot of students, including myself, will turn to the platform when they are struggling to grasp a concept that is hard for them. This could be on topics such as sentence structure, the effects of the first World War, and even fractions in math. YouTube can teach people things outside of school as well. Say you want to learn to draw or even learn new tips and tricks on how to improve your battleship positioning in World of Warships, YouTube has hundreds if not thousands of videos on just that. Honestly, if you really wanted to, you could probably find a video tutorial on performing open-heart surgery.

Finally, YouTube has just changed entertainment in general. YouTube was the first of its kind, a video-sharing platform where literally anyone could upload videos to the public. Additionally, the sheer amount of videos on the site means that pretty much anyone can find something entertaining to watch, whether it be a Smart car doing wheelies or a fashion show. With the addition of YouTube kids in 2015, it also became a way for young kids to keep themselves entertained instead of annoying their parents.

While YouTube has a significant amount of positive impact on the world, it also has its flaws. The main problem is the algorithm. The algorithm is a great thing, but can also lead people down an extremist rabbit hole. This is because the algorithm is designed to suggest videos based on the videos you commonly watch. This means that after a while of watching these videos, Youtube will just keep suggesting more videos from one viewpoint and less from the other. However, even with the issues that the algorithm presents, the beneficial effects of youtube, in general, outweigh the cons.

All in all, YouTube has completely changed the world. It has given people chances that they would have never dreamed of and has taught people things that they never knew. While the dating site never made the cut, the YouTube we all know and love today definitely did.