While we see YouTube today as one of the best places to view content, there’s a lot under the surface. YouTube is an amazing tool that helps people stay connected through entertainment, personal videos, and more. Here are 6 intriguing facts about youTube.
YouTube Started in 2005
It was founded on Valentine’s Day 2005. Also, the first video was uploaded from San Diego Zoo on April 23, 2005.
Partially Funded By PayPal (Indirectly)
The three founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim all worked for PayPal at one point before eBay bought them out. They used their bonuses to create YouTube, that’s still one of the most powerful social media networks to this day.
Google Bought YouTube for $1.65 Billion in 2006
Of course, that’s a lot of money. However, that pales in comparison to YouTube’s near $300 billion value today.
It Was Originally a Dating Site
Apparently, it was a video dating site called “Tune In Hook Up.” While this didn’t pan out, it became the most popular video site. There are over 1 billion users on YouTube, which is nearly ⅓ of the world population.
Music Is King
The most popular topic searched on YouTube is music. It’s not a surprise because of the connection of Vevo and YouTube. Artists also can monetize their channels with Google Adsense and get a piece of the profits.
YouTube Makes Billions Off Advertising Each Year
The annoying ads you watch on there before, during, and after the video actually add up quite a bit. YouTube makes over $13 billion per year in just ad revenue.