YouTube

=== Founding and initial growth (2005–2006) ===
[[File:Youtube founders.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|From left to right: [[Chad Hurley]], [[Steve Chen]], and [[Jawed Karim]], the founders of YouTube.]]

YouTube was founded by [[Steve Chen]], [[Chad Hurley]], and [[Jawed Karim]]. The trio were early employees of [[PayPal]], which left them enriched after the company was bought by [[eBay]].<ref name="Jackpot" /> Hurley had studied design at the [[Indiana University of Pennsylvania]], and Chen and Karim studied [[computer science]] together at the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]].<ref>{{cite web |date=October 11, 2006 |title=YouTube founders now superstars |url=https://www.smh.com.au/technology/youtube-founders-now-superstars-20061011-gdokrc.html |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413152749/https://www.smh.com.au/technology/youtube-founders-now-superstars-20061011-gdokrc.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a story that has often been repeated in the media, Hurley and Chen developed the idea for YouTube during the early months of 2005, after they had experienced difficulty sharing videos that had been shot at a dinner party at Chen's apartment in [[San Francisco]]. Karim did not attend the party and denied that it had occurred, but Chen remarked that the idea that YouTube was founded after a dinner party "was probably very strengthened by marketing ideas around creating a story that was very digestible".<ref name="YouTube gurus">{{cite magazine |last=Cloud |first=John |date=December 25, 2006 |title=The YouTube Gurus |url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570795,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=March 26, 2017 |archive-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516152014/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570795,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Karim said the inspiration for YouTube came from the [[Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy]], when [[Janet Jackson]]'s breast was briefly exposed by [[Justin Timberlake]] during the halftime show. Karim could not easily find video clips of the incident and the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami]] online, which led to the idea of a video-sharing site.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jim |last=Hopkins |title=Surprise! There's a third YouTube co-founder |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-11-youtube-karim_x.htm |website=[[USA Today]] |date=October 11, 2006 |access-date=March 26, 2017 |archive-date=October 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004011143/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-11-youtube-karim_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an [[online dating service]] and had been influenced by the website [[Hot or Not]].<ref name="YouTube gurus" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050428014715/https://www.youtube.com/ Earliest surviving version of the YouTube website] [[Wayback Machine]], April 28, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2013.</ref> They created posts on [[Craigslist]] asking attractive women to upload videos of themselves to YouTube in exchange for a $100 reward.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAJEXUNmP5M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/XAJEXUNmP5M |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live |title=r  p 2006: YouTube: From Concept to Hypergrowth – Jawed Karim |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Difficulty in finding enough dating videos led to a change of plans, with the site's founders deciding to accept uploads of any video.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stuart |last=Dredge |title=YouTube was meant to be a video-dating website |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/16/youtube-past-video-dating-website |work=The Guardian |date=March 16, 2016 |access-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128200940/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/16/youtube-past-video-dating-website |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Youtube logo.jpg|thumb|The YouTube logo used from its launch until 2007;{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} it returned in 2008 before being removed again in 2010.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} Another version of this logo without the "Broadcast Yourself" slogan was used until 2011.]]

YouTube began as a [[venture capital]]–funded technology [[startup company|startup]]. Between November 2005 and April 2006, the company raised money from various investors, with [[Sequoia Capital]] and Artis Capital Management being the largest two.<ref name="Jackpot">{{cite news |first1=Miguel |last1=Helft |first2=Matt |last2=Richtel |title=Venture Firm Shares a YouTube Jackpot |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/technology/10payday.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 10, 2006 |access-date=March 26, 2017 |id={{ProQuest|433418867}} |archive-date=March 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311122613/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/technology/10payday.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Helft |first1=Miguel |title=San Francisco Hedge Fund Invested in YouTube |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/technology/12hedges.html |work=The New York Times |volume=156|issue=53,730 |date=October 12, 2006 |id={{ProQuest|433422252}} |access-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034144/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/12/technology/12hedges.html |url-status=live }}</ref> YouTube's early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and a Japanese restaurant in [[San Mateo, California]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Sara |last=Kehaulani Goo |title=Ready for Its Close-Up |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100600660.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=October 7, 2006 |access-date=March 26, 2017 |archive-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402153534/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100600660.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2005, the company activated <code>www.youtube.com</code>.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whois Record for <code>www.youtube.com</code> |url=https://whois.domaintools.com/youtube.com |access-date=April 1, 2009 |publisher=DomainTools |archive-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402130611/http://whois.domaintools.com/youtube.com |url-status=live }}</ref> The first video was uploaded on April 23, 2005. Titled "[[Me at the zoo]]", it shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the [[San Diego Zoo]] and can still be viewed on the site.<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Alleyne |title=YouTube: Overnight success has sparked a backlash |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2480280/YouTube-Overnight-success-has-sparked-a-backlash.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2480280/YouTube-Overnight-success-has-sparked-a-backlash.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=July 31, 2008 |access-date=March 26, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 23, 2005 |title=Me at the zoo |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw |website=YouTube |last1=jawed |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/jNQXAC9IVRw |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=August 3, 2009 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In May, the company launched a public beta and by November, a Nike ad featuring [[Ronaldinho]] became the first video to reach one million total views.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRHk8ol0vTw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051125105508/https://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=aRHk8ol0vTw |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 25, 2005 |title=Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold – YouTube |work=[[Wayback Machine]] |date=November 25, 2005 |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/browse.php?s=mp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051102073554/https://www.youtube.com/browse.php?s=mp |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 2, 2005 |title=Most Viewed – YouTube |work=[[Wayback Machine]] |date=November 2, 2005 |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> The site launched officially on December 15, 2005, by which time the site was receiving 8&nbsp;million views a day.<ref>{{cite news |title=YouTube: a history |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/7596636/YouTube-a-history.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/7596636/YouTube-a-history.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=April 17, 2010 |access-date=March 26, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Megan Rose |last=Dickey |title=The 22 Key Turning Points in the History of YouTube |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/key-turning-points-history-of-youtube-2013-2 |website=[[Business Insider]] |date=February 15, 2013 |access-date=March 25, 2017 |archive-date=May 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512055717/http://www.businessinsider.com/key-turning-points-history-of-youtube-2013-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> Clips at the time were limited to 100 megabytes, as little as 30 seconds of footage.<ref>{{cite web |last=Graham |first=Jefferson |date=November 21, 2005 |title=Video websites pop up, invite postings |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-21-video-websites_x.htm |access-date=March 26, 2017 |website=[[USA Today]] |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412064600/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-21-video-websites_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

YouTube was not the first video-sharing site on the Internet; [[Vimeo]] was launched in November 2004, though that site remained a side project of its developers from [[CollegeHumor]].<ref name="fortune vimeo">{{cite web |url=https://fortune.com/2011/02/23/how-vimeo-became-hipster-youtube/ |title=How Vimeo became hipster YouTube |first=John Patrick |last=Pullen |date=February 23, 2011 |access-date=May 8, 2020 |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108022616/https://fortune.com/2011/02/23/how-vimeo-became-hipster-youtube/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The week of YouTube's launch, NBC-Universal's ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' ran a skit "[[Lazy Sunday (The Lonely Island song)|Lazy Sunday]]" by [[The Lonely Island]]. Besides helping to bolster ratings and long-term viewership for ''Saturday Night Live'', "Lazy Sunday"'s status as an early [[viral video]] helped establish YouTube as an important website.<ref name="First Launched">{{cite web |url=https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/heres-what-people-thought-of-youtube-when-it-first-laun-1832019272 |title=Here's What People Thought of YouTube When It First Launched in the Mid-2000s |first=Matt |last=Novak |date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=February 14, 2020 |work=[[Gizmodo]] |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126210158/https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/heres-what-people-thought-of-youtube-when-it-first-laun-1832019272 |url-status=live }}</ref> Unofficial uploads of the skit to YouTube drew in more than five million collective views by February 2006 before they were removed when [[NBCUniversal]] requested it two months later based on copyright concerns.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/business/media/a-video-clip-goes-viral-and-a-tv-network-wants-to-control-it.html |title=A Video Clip Goes Viral, and a TV Network Wants to Control It |first=John |last=Biggs |date=February 20, 2006 |access-date=February 14, 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308130248/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/business/media/a-video-clip-goes-viral-and-a-tv-network-wants-to-control-it.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite eventually being taken down, these duplicate uploads of the skit helped popularize YouTube's reach and led to the upload of more third-party content.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/lazy-sunday-10th-anniversary-snl-1201657949/ |title='Lazy Sunday' Turns 10: 'SNL' Stars Recall How TV Invaded the Internet |first1=Andrew |last1=Wallenstein |first2=Todd |last2=Spangler |date=December 18, 2015 |access-date=April 27, 2019 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214093508/https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/lazy-sunday-10th-anniversary-snl-1201657949/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-flashback-snls-lazy-sunday-put-youtube-map-2005-1044829 |title=Hollywood Flashback: 'SNL's' 'Lazy Sunday' Put YouTube on the Map in 2005 |first=Bill |last=Higgens |date=October 5, 2017 |access-date=April 27, 2019 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117164538/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-flashback-snls-lazy-sunday-put-youtube-map-2005-1044829 |url-status=live }}</ref> The site grew rapidly; in July 2006, the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day and that the site was receiving 100&nbsp;million video views per day.<ref>{{cite web |title=YouTube serves up 100 million videos a day online |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-07-16-youtube-views_x.htm |website=[[USA Today]] |date=July 16, 2006 |access-date=March 26, 2017 |archive-date=December 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231004209/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-07-16-youtube-views_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The choice of the name <code>www.youtube.com</code> led to problems for a similarly named website, <code>www.utube.com</code>. That site's owner, [[Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment]], filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006, after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube subsequently changed its website to <code>www.utubeonline.com</code>.<ref>{{cite news |title=Help! YouTube is killing my business! |last1=Zappone |first1=Christian |publisher=CNN |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/10/12/news/companies/utube/index.htm |access-date=November 29, 2008 |date=October 12, 2006 |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109144540/https://money.cnn.com/2006/10/12/news/companies/utube/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Utube sues YouTube |last1=Blakely |first1=Rhys |work=The Times |location=London |url=https://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article623050.ece |access-date=November 29, 2008 |date=November 2, 2006 |archive-date=April 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403234216/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article623050.ece |url-status=dead}}</ref>