YouTube wasn’t known for the intricate long-form videos that MrBeast and other creators produced twenty years ago. There were no jump cuts, sound effects, or elaborate lighting.
On April 23, 2005, “Me at the Zoo,” the platform’s debut video, was posted on YouTube. It only lasts 19 seconds and shows Jawed Karim, a co-founder of YouTube, standing in front of two elephants in the San Diego Zoo.
Karim looks back at the elephants and adds, “All right, so here we are, in front of the elephants.” One may be seen briefly in the video putting hay in its mouth and wrapping it around its trunk. Karim points out that the cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long um… trunks. He gives the elephants one final glance. “And that’s about all that can be said.” (Karim posted another video on April 23rd called “Rolling down a hill,” but it was removed.)
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The user “mw” uploaded the second one, “My Snowboarding Skillz,” on the same day. It’s the first “fail” video ever posted to YouTube, a type of video that was popular for a long time. at the blurry 10-second video clip, a snowboarder is seen sliding up a ramp at a snowy ski resort, only to collapse moments later, and you can hear a hazy “whooshing” sound getting closer. Before we can see what occurs next, the video ends as the snowboarder gets up on their own.
One day later, on April 24, 2005, another video called “tribute” was uploaded by a person going by the handle “gp.” It is the shortest of the group, lasting only five seconds. It depicts a man wearing a brown jacket standing in a dull hallway that has the appearance of a dorm. With a primal cry, they leap up and balance against the walls. Then someone else, who is probably the one with the camera, remarks, “Very nice,” and the individual thuds down.
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All three videos at the time demonstrated how easily anyone could create a YouTube video by just recording a fleeting moment in time, regardless of how ordinary it may appear. Even though YouTube is now overflowing with long tutorials, in-depth videos, and vlogs, things have begun to come full circle, at least somewhat.
When Vine first started in 2012, it used looping six-second clips to compete with YouTube’s expanding collection of multi-minute videos. TikTok, which combined with the lip-syncing platform Musical.ly to create a short-form video giant, eventually shut down the platform in 2017 after it had become overrun with humorous clips and short skits.
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Platforms rushed to introduce their own short-form video feeds as TikTok’s popularity skyrocketed. Despite being the original medium for these short videos, YouTube introduced Shorts to the US in 2021, while Instagram introduced Reels in 2020.
Twenty years ago, YouTube videos looked very different from the supplemental shorts. With careful scripts and purposeful camerawork that the typical person might not be able to replicate, the majority of the videos that YouTube’s algorithm displays weren’t shot on the spur of the moment. However, many of them retain the spontaneity and sense of community found in the first three videos posted to the platform, even with more preparation. When you’re short on time, you want to get right to the point.
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