Monday, February 3, 2025
EOTO #1
It was 2004 when Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. There was a wardrobe malfunction where Justin Timberlake tore off a piece of Janet Jackson's costume. This was a shocking and impactful moment in Super Bowl history that put the public in an uproar. Naturally, after the Super Bowl was over all anyone wanted to do was rewatch the video. With limited video-sharing sites on the internet, the video was hard to access. That was until three men put their heads together to end this issue and create a video-sharing website called YouTube.
Three former PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim were at a dinner party for their company when they all happened to be sharing videos of their cats with each other. They thought to themselves there must be a way to upload these videos just like there has to be a way to watch the Super Bowl halftime show.
Before YouTube people primarily accessed videos from DVDs/CDs, TV, and VHS tapes. The biggest problem with having to watch a video on these devices was the lack of diversity within the video content. If a person was trying to find a specific video to watch, they could not do that by watching television. Even if the video that you desired to see was on TV, you would have to wait for it to come on. YouTube was not the first video-sharing website, but it was the first one that was easily accessible. 
People felt that they had to be computer geniuses to use other websites and ran into several problems. People often found that the files they were trying to upload were not the file type the website accepted. So if the website only accepted PEG files but the video that you were trying to upload is an MPEG file, you were simply out of luck. When people tried to email videos to their friends, the files were too big.
And when people were unsuccessful with email they had to burn CDs which started to become a waste. The lucky few who were able to upload their videos could only share a certain amount due to the structure of the website. Putting a limitation on the amount of videos one can share defeats the purpose of creating a platform.
People felt that they had to be computer geniuses to use other websites and ran into several problems. People often found that the files they were trying to upload were not the file type the website accepted. So if the website only accepted PEG files but the video that you were trying to upload is an MPEG file, you were simply out of luck. When people tried to email videos to their friends, the files were too big.
And when people were unsuccessful with email they had to burn CDs which started to become a waste. The lucky few who were able to upload their videos could only share a certain amount due to the structure of the website. Putting a limitation on the amount of videos one can share defeats the purpose of creating a platform.
The three founders got to work. Hurley focused on the design aspects of the site while Chen and Karim focused on coding as they were software engineers. On December 15, 2005, YouTube was launched and forever changed the world. People now finally had a platform where they could access everything they needed in one place and did not have to worry about storage and file size. 
YouTube took advantage of a fast-growing technology at the time called Adobe Flash Player where you could watch any type of video on your computer without having to download it.
YouTube took advantage of a fast-growing technology at the time called Adobe Flash Player where you could watch any type of video on your computer without having to download it.
It was the first time that people felt that they didn’t have to be computer geniuses. The days of burning CDs or mindlessly scrolling around the internet were over. YouTube provides features such as trending pages and "videos we think you might like".
YouTube also took tutorials to a whole new level. Instead of flipping through books or figuring out how to do something by yourself, YouTube provides step-by-step videos showing you the way.
YouTube changed communication for the better. The rise of creators and influencers have allowed fans to get an inside look at their favorite creators lives with storytelling and streaming. If a popular social media couple breaks up publicly, it is not uncommon for the ex-girlfriend/boyfriend to make a YouTube Video explaining the breakup. This keeps the public up to date and allows the full truth to be shared.
All of the news broadcast channels have YouTube. People can look back on old interviews or if they missed the news on TV, they can watch it on YouTube. YouTube is a worldwide platform so anyone can access the news at any time obtaining up-to-date news.
Because I grew up with YouTube I cannot imagine a world without it. All of my middle school and high school classes were filled with YouTube videos. The popular artist, Justin Bieber, was found on YouTube and stole girls hearts for generations. It might sound silly to some but watching videos on this platform was and is a big part of my life. My childhood consisted of finding which artist had the best music video. Youtube is a wonderful platform that has forever impacted the world socially, educationally, and technologically.
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