Evolution of YouTube

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YouTube is a popular video-sharing platform where users can create and share their content for an audience of viewers. The audience ranges from children to adults as it has a varied mass media content. It was founded in February 2005 and did not face any difficulty in mounting the ladder of success. It is now one of the most popular and widely used websites. The timeline of YouTube can be tracked as below:

Launch

  • Upon its launch, the site was minimalistic in terms of its features. These included various tabs leading to the user’s profile, direct messages, videos, and a homepage which prompted for the username and password, among others.
  • Three PayPal employees founded YouTube, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim.
  • It was initially a venture which was funded by an informal investor, and in November of 2005, it received a significant investment from Sequoia Capital.
  • By April 2006, after noticing tremendous growth over the previous months, Sequoia Capital, along with another company, additionally invested in YouTube.
  • By the end of 2006, YouTube had features including subscriptions, playlists, full-screen views, video responses, personalized profiles, uploading from cell phones, history, and a 5-star rating system, among others.

Growth

  • Soon, by 2006, YouTube became a part of the most rapid-growing websites on the internet, having over 60,000 video uploads.
  • It was receiving over 100 million views each day. YouTube did not have a monetization program until then, and the views entirely depended upon the content of the video and not its creator.
  • In June 2006, the company entered into an advertising and marketing partnership initiative with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).

A significant milestone: YouTube’s acquisition by Google

  • In October 2006, Google acquired the complete stock of YouTube for over USD 1 Billion. This acquisition was completed in November of the same year.
  • At the time, this acquisition was Google’s second-largest.

Growth Until Now

  • By 2007, YouTube had added a few local language versions.
  • From 2007, YouTube also held its awards, recognizing the best videos on the platform. The members of their community took the votes.
  • In July and November 2007, YouTube and CNN organized and produced presidential debates wherein Republican, as well as Democratic U.S. competitors, answered the questions submitted by YouTube.
  • Moreover, during November of the next month, YouTube took yet another strategic initiative and signed a partnership with CBS, Lions Gate Entertainment, and MGM.

According to a market study, by 2010, YouTube was a dominating online video provider in the United States, having a market share of around 43 percent.

YouTube is now available in several language interfaces. Over the years, YouTube has witnessed a lot of changes in terms of its designs, logos, settings, and format. It gives free access to its users and has now even produced a premium version of its application. It also lets its users earn through their videos. Its database of videos keeps on increasing, and it houses a wide variety of videos. YouTube aims to be a platform that appeals to all demographics ranging from age to region. It has also effectively raised the standards of video making and producing valuable content.

Published by webmaster