YouTube’s First Video Gets Museum Makeover | V&A Preserves Internet’s Childhood
The V&A Museum is archiving the internet’s past with a slice of YouTube history: a reconstructed watch page from 2006, frozen in time.
The exhibit features the first-ever YouTube upload, “Me at the zoo,” a 19-second clip of co-founder Jawed Karim filmed in 2005. The video is widely considered a foundational moment in user-generated content, enabling new modes of public self-expression and reshaping media creation and consumption.
The 19-second clip of YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, filmed on a low-res camera in 2005 is widely considered a foundational moment in the rise of user-generated content, enabling new modes of public self-expression, changing how media is created and consumed.
The reconstruction highlights early design elements like badges, rating buttons, and sharing features that remain central to modern platforms.
The exhibit was developed in collaboration with YouTube’s UX team and interaction design studio oio. It opens February 18 at V&A South Kensington, with technical details displayed at the V&A East Storehouse.
