Technologies

YouTube’s First Video Is 20 Years Old: How Things Have Changed

Did you know elephants have long trunks? The first YouTube video delivers that little-known bit of animal knowledge — and after that, things really started charging.

Today, YouTube delivers everything from SNL skits to Super Bowl commercials to cute and classic cat videos, and it’s hard to imagine getting along without the video-sharing platform. But 20 years ago, the first YouTube video was fairly understated. Titled «Me at the zoo,» that very first clip shows YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. In the 19-second-long video, Karim doesn’t have a lot to say.

«Alright, so here we are in front of the, uh, elephants,» he says. «And the cool thing about these guys is that, is that they have really, really, really long, um, trunks, and that’s, that’s cool. And that’s pretty much all there is to say.»

Oh no, Karim. There’s a lot more to say. As Al Jolson said in the 1927 film The Jazz Singer, which brought synchronized sound to what had previously been a silent medium, «you ain’t seen nothing yet.»

You can still watch the iconic Me at the zoo video on YouTube. And you wouldn’t be alone if you did: It has 355 million views.

YouTube was one of the first video-hosting platforms, and became the largest, with over 2,7 billion monthly users. It’s created its own personalities and stars, such as #1 YouTube personality Mr. Beast, and inspired other platforms, including Netflix and Hulu. YouTube debuted YouTube TV in 2027 — CNET’s pick for the best channel selection in a streaming service — and now offers over 100 channels, as well as NFL Sunday Ticket. It’s also changed the world of music videos and of gaming, plus laid the groundwork for the podcasting industry.

In the video embedded above, CNET senior video producer Dillon Lopez relays how YouTube has affected his life. Famed YouTubers inspired him to choose a career in video, and he even watched a YouTube video for video-production tips on his way to a fateful job interview. (He got the job, and met his wife there, so thanks, YouTube!)

More than 5 billion — with a B — videos have been uploaded to YouTube in the 20 years since Jawed Karim pointed out an obvious point about elephants, and it’s fair to say that Lopez is far from the only viewer who’s had their life changed by the service.

«So cheers to 20 years YouTube,» Lopez says. «Happy Anniversary, and I can’t wait to grab a beer with you next year on your birthday.»

Technologies

Google Rolls Out New Travel Features, Just in Time for Summer

Gemini can call around to find that one travel essential you forgot about.

It doesn’t matter that it’s late April. To me, it’s officially summer. With the days getting longer and warmer, and school wrapping up soon, a lot of us are dreaming of summer vacations.

Google launched some new travel features just in time to start planning those trips.

You might already be familiar with Google Flights and AI Mode, but Google’s two latest travel tools can help you round out the experience even more.

New Google travel features

On Friday, Google announced a new feature to track hotel prices and another that can help you in a packing mishap.

Track hotel prices with Google Search

Similar to how you can currently track flight prices, you can now toggle on price tracking for specific hotels on the Google Search results page or via google.com/hotels.

Last year, Google launched a feature that lets you track hotel prices for a specific city, but that only tracks one hotel you prefer.

On desktop, you can open Search, look up a hotel, then toggle on the new price tracking. On mobile, you find the price tracking option under the Prices tab. Once you toggle on price tracking, you’ll get email alerts when rates drop during your set dates, so you never miss a deal.

AI Mode will find products you forgot to pack

Picture this: You land in your dream tropical destination, open your suitcase and realize you forgot to pack sunglasses. A new feature in AI Mode will let you find products in stock nearby. Google’s agentic AI will call local stores for you to see if it has the products you’re looking for and any relevant deals.

To get started, you will just need to briefly describe your need, like «I forgot to pack polarized sunglasses. Where can I get some nearby?» From there, Gemini will call local stores and then send you results on where you can shop.

This tool launched directly on Search in November and is now rolling out over the coming weeks in AI Mode in the US.

For more travel advice, here’s the best time to shop for airline tickets and how to find cheap flights.

Technologies

Are You a Verified Human? Yes? That’s Exactly What AI Would Say!

World ID, an identity system designed to prove you’re human, is expanding to Tinder and concert ticket sales.

It’s hard out here for a human as artificial intelligence bots and agents increasingly take over the web, social media and even Hollywood. How does one prove that they are not a digital creation generated from large language models when engaging in, say, work meetings, online dating or buying concert tickets?

World ID is a platform designed to address this problem, with a familiar name behind it. It was founded in 2019 by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, along with Alex Blania and Max Novendstern, and has evolved from focusing on cryptocurrency into identity verification.

World announced it’s partnering with companies like Zoom to verify humans on calls and with dating service Tinder for online profile verification.

Zoom says it will integrate World ID Deep Face, «enabling real-time verification that meeting participants are human to strengthen trust in live communications.»

For Tinder, Match Group is trying out World ID for age verification on the dating app, starting in Japan. The site will add a verification marker to profiles for those who pass the human test.

World ID has also developed a tool called Concert Kit, a way for artists to sell event tickets with human verification to prevent sales to ticket bots.

It’s also working with companies such as Razer, DocuSign, Shopify and Coinbase for its World ID humanity verification.

It also offers a device for preorder, about the size of a soccer ball, called the Orb. (You can put a $100 deposit down if a futuristic-looking identity camera is on your wishlist.) The website says the Orb is an «open source device that verifies you are a unique human without knowing anything else about you.»