Happy 20th Birthday @YouTube.
Happy 20th Birthday @YouTube.
Amazinly, the platform is getting BIGGER and BIGGER... But why?
YouTube, the American online video-sharing platform headquartered in California, was founded by three former PayPal employees, who were Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in February 2005.
Google famously bought the platform only a YEAR LATER in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion. The global brand recognised platform offers a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos. Available content includes:
- Tedxtalks
- video clips,
- TV show clips,
- music videos,
- Short films,
- movie trailers,
- live streams,
- audio recordings,
- video blogging,
- short original videos,
- and educational videos.
It is this last point - where YouTube shines and becomes the go to for information for almost every generation. Which means now in 2025 YouTube is the second largest search engine, with over 2.5 billion logged-in users per month.
And over 1 billion hours of video are watched on the platform each day.
But why did “video” get SO big? One of the main reasons is that people don’t just want text-based answers anymore. In fact, they probably never did want them. Technology simply hadn’t caught up until 20 years ago. People want to see, hear, and experience information visually. A few reasons therefore that videos are watched and enjoyed so much are…
- Video makes complex topics easier to understand
- It’s more engaging than text-based content
- It builds trust faster than written content
And this is where the fun starts. Because of this reason, video content ranks higher not just on YouTube, but also on Google too, making it a dominant force in search results. So its a double whammy. But it is another technology reason too,the rise and rise of mobile smartphones and mobile broadband and the dropping cost of storage and data too. As 70% of all YouTube traffic comes from mobile devices.
But it’s not just mobile cat videos and music downloads.
YouTube has become the go-to destination for learning. Every day, millions of people search for:
- How-to tutorials (cooking, tech fixes, DIY projects)
- Product reviews (before making a purchase)
- Business advice (marketing strategies, growth hacks)
- Fitness and health tips (workout routines, nutrition guides)
- Even old marketing blokes talking about the future of work and AI.
The other thing is since YouTube prioritizes helpful, informative content, businesses and creators who provide real value can rank higher and attract consistent traffic. And unlike traditional search engines, YouTube’s algorithm doesn’t just look at keywords—it learns from user behavior. The platform analyzes:
- Watch time (how long people stay on a video)
- Engagement (likes, comments, shares)
- Search history (what users are interested in)
This personalized approach ensures that users are shown content that matches their preferences, making YouTube’s search experience highly engaging and tailored. Which, of course, has its downsides too. As more and more people enter into echo chambers and misinformation. As I explained on BBC Radio Scotland…
Was this Google’s best tech buy - EVER…
Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006 and a LOT of analysised laughed at the price - but now YouTube could be worth $400 billion — that’s more than Disney and Comcast combined.
The platform is expected to have 2.98 billion monthly active users by the end of 2025. Whilst YouTube has localized versions for over 100 countries and is available in 80 different languages.
And In almost every country in the world, YouTube is the most downloaded video app. For example, the UKl, although the gap between YouTube and other services is smaller. But YouTube has around 38 million people using it. Remember there are around 70 million people in the UK.
How does this compare to traditional TV?
In February, YouTube accounted for a record 11.6% of time spent watching TV, per Nielsen, overtaking Disney in the measurement firm’s Media Distributor Gauge. This being said YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S. Time spent watching YouTube on TV is up 53% compared to the same month two years ago.
BUT… The overall viewing bump has been driven by older audiences, with viewing from adults ages 65 and up increasing 96% year-over-year and nearly doubling in the last two years. Even things YouTube isn't famous for are doing well.
So things, like YouTube Shorts which were viewed 70 billion times a day in February 2024. Even YouTube Music is doing well competing for second place in terms of total subscribers, and looks likely to take that second spot from Tencent.
But HOW does YouTube make money?
YouTube has experienced a total growth of 30% in its revenue in the past four years. And how does it do this - well - if you aren’t buying a product - you are the product. So by people watching advertising and PPC advertising / display advertising.
YouTube ads generate over $20 billion in annual revenue for Google. It also has its premium service too. So YouTube Premium combines music streaming with no video ads, and is available for the same price as Spotify. It reached 100 million subscribers in 2024.
And one of the ways it keeps growing and growing is giving away a lot of money to creators. As this is all about user generated content, with 500 hours of new video content is uploaded to the site every minute.Whilst the number of YouTube channels earning six figures per year on YouTube has increased by over 40% year-over-year.
These channels are HUGE - with the most popular YouTube channel is T-Series with over 200 million subscribers. Whilst the YouTube superstar is Mr Beast - making around 90 million dollars a year!
But it’s not JUST about money…
One of the things I like about Youtube is that it is the democratisation of knowledge. For literally nothing, but an email address, everyone can have their own TV channel. This can be a positive as well as a negative.
For example, In 2010 TED curator Chris Anderson described a phenomenon by which geographically distributed individuals in a certain field share their independently developed skills in YouTube videos, thus challenging others to improve their own skills, and spurring invention and evolution in that field.
Ted Talks was born on YouTube. About 2,500 TED video lectures—delivery of which having been described by technology journalist Steven Levy as "an aspirational peak for the thinking set" —have collectively been viewed almost 250 million times on YouTube's "TEDtalksDirector" channel's network.
About The Author:
Keynote speaker, professional speaker, Ted X talker, serial tech startup founder, ex marketing agency owner, digital trainer, and now author and media spokesperson Dan Sodergren’s main area of interest is the future of work, technology, data and AI In his spare time, as well as being a dad, which comes first, Dan is a digital marketing and technology (and now AI) expert for TV shows and the BBC and countless radio shows.
Occasionally donning the cape of consumer champion on shows like BBC WatchDog, the One Show and RipOffBritain and being a marketing tech specialist for SuperShoppers and RealFakeAndUnknown and BBC Breakfast. He is also a host and guest on podcasts and webinars speaking as a tech futurist. And a remote reporter / content creator for tech companies at tech events and shows.
His main interest is in the future. Be that the future of marketing, or the future or work or how AI and technology will change the world for the better as part of the #FifthIndustrialRevolution.
Find out more about him here bit.ly/DanSodergren