YouTube's 20th Anniversary: I hope you know, you are the way you are because of YouTube

I remember life before YouTube and life after. In the 20 years since Jawid Karim posted that first zoo video, YouTube has become a dominant force in media creation and consumption.

It's built industries and stars and forever altered viewing habits. I'd argue that it's the reason we now get most of our information from social video. And while AI is fast becoming the source for every answer (and some videos), we still get things done with YouTube's voluminous guidance.

As a long-time technology journalist, I'm embarrassed to admit I was a little late to the YouTube revolution, waiting to post my first video until almost 18 months after the initial launch. Even so, that first video made me a convert. I was so excited, I detailed the entire process in a PCMag post.

The video is in some ways emblematic of ...