YouTube's inception in 2005 by three ex-PayPal employees started as a vague concept aimed at video dating, quickly shifting focus when they realized users preferred sharing personal videos. With an initial pitch that attracted little interest, the site evolved to prioritize user-generated content, allowing anyone to become a creator with simple tools. This shift proved successful, leading to rapid growth and eventual acquisition by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion, marking YouTube as a cornerstone of 21st-century media consumption.
"At his University of Illinois commencement speech back in 2007, the German-born Karim explained, 'We didn't even know how to describe our new product... To generate interest, we just said it was a new kind of dating site.'"
"We found this very interesting. We said, 'Why not let the users define what YouTube is all about?' By June, we had completely revamped the website."
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