On April 23, 2025, YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary, marked by the upload of its first video, 'Me at the zoo.' Initially characterized by poor production quality, the platform has recorded over 20 trillion uploads over the years, with 20 million new videos added daily. Engadget staff reflects on their favorite early videos, highlighting a nostalgic preference for raw, unpolished content. They note that the emotional connection to videos often trumps technical quality, signifying a shift in viewer expectations and experiences.
Fast forward a few decades and YouTube has no peer in terms of its sheer volume of audiovisual content.
The stuff that really resonates with us isn't polish or production, but the raw, oddball stuff that couldn't have existed anywhere else.
YouTube has seen an astronomical number of 20 trillion videos uploaded in the last 20 years.
'Me at the zoo,' the first video on YouTube, is grainy, short and has no production values to speak of.
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