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{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = {{noitalic|"Me at the zoo"}}
| name = {{noitalic|"Me at the zoo"}}
| image = Me at the zoo.webm{{!}}center
| alt =
| caption = Full video
| producer = [[Jawed Karim]]
| producer = [[Jawed Karim]]
| starring = Jawed Karim
| starring = Jawed Karim

Revision as of 15:37, 12 April 2024

For the unrelated 2012 documentary, see Me at the Zoo (2012 film).

"Me at the zoo"
Produced byJawed Karim
StarringJawed Karim
CinematographyYakov Lapitskÿ
Release date
April 23, 2005; 19 years ago
Running time
19 seconds
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

"Me at the zoo" is the first video uploaded to YouTube, on April 23, 2005, 8:31:52 p.m. PDT, or April 24, 2005, at 03:31:52 UTC. The 19-second video features YouTube's co-founder Jawed Karim, who was 25 years old at the time, in front of two elephants at the San Diego Zoo in California, noting their long trunks. Using Karim's camera, it was recorded by his high school friend, Yakov Lapitsky, a University of Delaware Ph.D. student at the time, who was in San Diego to deliver his research to the American Chemical Society. As of April 2024, it has gained more than 315 million views.

Background

Main article: YouTube § Founding and initial growth (2005–2006)

YouTube was founded in 2005 by three former employees at PayPal, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. Hurley studied design at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Karim and Chen studied computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[1] Karim stated that inspiration for the platform came from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy (also known as the "Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction"),[2] when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's breast, and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed 227,898 people in 14 countries. He was unable to find any video clips of either events online, giving him the idea to start a video sharing website.[3]

The company activated the youtube.com domain in Feburary 2005,[4] and "Me at the zoo" was uploaded on April 23, 2005.[5] It shows Karim at the San Diego Zoo in California, with two elephants behind him. In the video, he notes the length of their trunks.[6][7] The video was recorded with Karim's camera by his high school friend, Yakov Lapitsky. Lapitsky was a University of Delaware Ph.D. student at the time who was in San Diego to deliver research to the American Chemical Society.[8]

Reception

The Los Angeles Times explained in 2009 that "as the first video uploaded to YouTube, it played a pivotal role in fundamentally altering how people consumed media and helped usher in a golden era of the 60-second video".[9] Digital Trends called it a "nondescript affair" and "tongue-in-cheek" video that set "the tone for what was to come" on YouTube.[10]

Legacy

Greg Jarboe describes the video's representation of an "ordinary moment" to be "extraordinary" for its time, demonstrating YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim's vision of what YouTube would become. According to Jarboe, "Me at the zoo" showed that YouTube was not simply about trying to "capture special moments on video" but rather trying to empower YouTube users "to become the broadcasters of tomorrow". This paved the way for YouTube to become the world's most popular online video-sharing community.[11] Aaron Duplantier said that the ordinary "everydayness" and "dry aesthetics" of "Me at the zoo" set the tone for the type of original amateur content that would become typical of YouTube, especially among YouTubers and vloggers.[12] In addition to being the first video on YouTube, it has been described as the first YouTube vlog clip.[13]

Business Insider ranked it the most important YouTube video of all time, stating: "It is representative of YouTube—it doesn't need to be this fancy production; it can be approachable. The first YouTube video is something anyone could create on their own."[14] The New York Observer also ranked it the most important video in YouTube history, stating "the thing is practically a historical artifact".[15] BuzzFeed News listed it among the 20 most important online videos of all time.[16]

On multiple occasions, Karim has used the video's description feed to criticize YouTube's business actions. In November 2013, in response to Google requiring YouTube users to use Google+ accounts to comment on videos, he updated the description to say "I can't comment here anymore, since i don't want a Google+ account".[17] The video's description was changed in response to YouTube's decision to remove video dislikes from public view, reading: "When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube," in November of 2021.[18][19] A few days later, the description was changed again to a more detailed condemnation of YouTube's decision.[19] The video thumbnail was changed to a MrBeast-style image of Karim with fiery eyes pointing at an AI-generated background image of elephants on December 16, 2023. It was reverted to the original thumbnail two weeks later.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "YouTube founders now superstars". The Sydney Morning Herald. October 11, 2006. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  2. ^ Nekesa Mumbi Moody (February 3, 2004). "Janet Jackson Apologizes for Bared Breast". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 3, 2004. Also published by CNN.com as "Apologetic Jackson says 'costume reveal' went awry".
  3. ^ Hopkins, Jim (October 11, 2006). "Surprise! There's a third YouTube co-founder". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  4. ^ Weaver, Stephanie (February 14, 2024). "YouTube turns 19: Look back at the first video ever posted". Fox29. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  5. ^ Asmelash, Leah (April 23, 2020). "The first ever YouTube video was uploaded 15 years ago today. Here it is". CNN. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Hoby, Hermione; Tom Lamont (April 11, 2011). "How YouTube made superstars out of everyday people". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  7. ^ Heffernan, Virginia (September 6, 2009). "Uploading the Avant-Garde". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  8. ^ Miller, Beth (September 2015). "YouTube's First Upload". University of Delaware messenger. Vol. 23, no. 2. www1.udel.edu/. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Pham, Alex (April 10, 2010). "YouTube turns 5, can't wait to grow up". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2011. Born as a clearinghouse for quick, quirky homemade videos, the site now seeks to add more professional and profitable content.
  10. ^ "'Elephants have really long trunks' – YouTube's first ever video upload turns seven years old today". Digital Trends. April 23, 2012. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  11. ^ Jarboe, Greg (2009). YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day. John Wiley & Sons. p. xxi. ISBN 9780470577820.
  12. ^ Duplantier, Aaron (2016). Authenticity and How We Fake It: Belief and Subjectivity in Reality TV, Facebook and YouTube. McFarland. p. 122. ISBN 9780786498499.
  13. ^ "YouTube created a FOMO viewing culture over the past 13 years". Polygon. April 23, 2018. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  14. ^ Baer, Drake (February 20, 2015). "The 10 most important Youtube videos of all time". Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  15. ^ "The 10 Most Important Videos in YouTube History". The New York Observer. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  16. ^ "The 20 Most Important Online Videos Of All Time". BuzzFeed News. BuzzFeed. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  17. ^ Cheredar, Tom (November 8, 2013). "YouTube cofounder's first public comment in 8 years: why the f*** [sic] do i need a Google+ account to comment on a video?". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  18. ^ "YouTube's first video, changes description, calls the decision to stop dislike counter 'stupid'". The Indian Express. November 15, 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Vincent, James (November 17, 2021). "YouTube co-founder predicts 'decline' of the platform following removal of dislikes". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  20. ^ "YouTube's first video recently received a MrBeast-style thumbnail update". Tubefilter. December 17, 2023. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Me_at_the_zoo&oldid=1218581834"