The first video uploaded to YouTube was titled “Me at the zoo,” posted by co-founder Jawed Karim in 2005.
The 19-second video shows Karim standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo in California. It was uploaded on April 23, 2005, shortly after YouTube’s website was created by Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley.
The clip is historically important because it marks the beginning of YouTube’s enormous user-generated video library. Although its subject is simple, it established the kind of casual, personal video that later became central to the platform.
People sometimes confuse the first upload with YouTube’s first viral hit. “Me at the zoo” was the earliest uploaded video, while later videos such as “Lazy Sunday” helped bring widespread public attention to YouTube. Google acquired YouTube in 2006, less than two years after the service launched.