YouTube was launched as a dating site – How has this service transformed into a video empire?

YouTube is a video empire which has helped create numerous stars, music and otherwise, where billions of videos are viewed every day. But some things about the beginnings of the service that Google bought in 2016 for USD 1.6 billion are less known.

Before the internet generation began to “swipe” on Tinder, a website aimed to play the part of Cupid. It was none other than YouTube. What is now one of the most popular websites began as a dating site, Steve Chen, a co-founder, admits.

– We always thought there was something with video there, but what would be the actual practical application. We thought dating would be the obvious choice. The idea was for single people to make videos introducing themselves and saying what they were looking for.

After no videos were uploaded for five days, the founders decided to open the platform to all types of videos.

Still, whether as a coincidence or not, the website was registered on Valentine's Day, February 14.

The first video was uploaded to the website on April 23, 2005, showing co-founder Jawed Karim at a zoo.

It's also interesting that all three co-founders, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim and Chad Hurley worked at PayPal when they founded YouTube.

Today, 300 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and the site is visited by 30 million people each day.

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Jawed Karim

Chad Hurley

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