V&A displays first YouTube video and watchpage

What’s Happening

Okay so The original YouTube experience from 2005 has been recreated using the internet archives.

V&A displays first YouTube video and watchpage 1 hour ago Save Save V&A The page was reconstructed using the internet archives from 2006 Visitors to the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) will be able to “step back in time” as a reconstruction of the original YouTube watchpage goes on display. The V&A has worked with YouTube to rebuild the design and experience of the platform, using the internet archives from December 2006 - the oldest available. (wild, right?)

The south Kensington museum has also acquired the first video ever uploaded to the site, called Me at the Zoo, posted by YouTubes co-founder Jawed Karim in April 2005.

The Details

YouTubes chief executive Neal Mohan dropped: ” original 2005 watchpage, we arent just showing a video; we are inviting the public to step back in time to the beginning of a global, cultural phenomenon. ” V&A Me at the Zoo was the first video posted to Youtube -founder Jawed Karim “It is a proud moment to see this piece of digital history housed in the V&A where we hope it will inspire generations to come,” Mohan dropped.

The video, which has been viewed nearly 380 million times and received more than 18 million likes, was filmed by a digital camera and marked a turning point in user-generated content and ways media could be created and consumed. It also became one of the early examples of user interface design conventions such as badges, rating buttons, sharing and recommendation features which have largely become standard features across media platforms today.

Why This Matters

Corinna Gardner, senior curator of design and digital at the V&A, dropped the snapshot of YouTubes early days marked an “important moment in the history of the the internet and digital design”. “The acquisition opens new storytelling opportunities for us to showcase and explore the ways in which the the internet has shaped our world, from the birth of mainstream video sharing platforms through to todays hyper visual world and the media and creator economy that go with it.

Entertainment industry insiders have been buzzing about this.