YouTube Turns 5 Years Old Today

The domain name YouTube.com was registered on February 14, 2005 – exactly 5 years ago today. It’s amazing to think how far the video sharing site has come since it’s inception.  And even more spectacular was what happened on October 9th, 2006 when Google paid $1.65 billion dollars for YouTube.  This acquisition would go in Google’s history as the largest amount of money paid for any one company buyout.

Today, YouTube continues on a path of shear domination.  YouTube serves up over 1 billion page views a day – yes, that’s right – 1 billion page views per day.  And truth be told, the video sharing site has really just begun it’s ad revenue optimization.

It’s exciting to think about what the future might hold for YouTube.  Certainly the user generated content will dominate the page views, but other ventures such as movie rentals, sponsored exposure for videos, and sponsored channels are all very lucrative paths for YouTube to follow.

Honestly, it’s hard to believe that YouTube is only 5 years old and has achieved such grand success!

Happy 5th Birthday YouTube!