It’s been more than 5 years since Youtube was founded and more than 3 years since Google bought the popular video sharing Web site.

Youtube started modestly, like many Internet sensations, but it has grown so much that now visitors watch more than 2 billion videos a day! I bet US television networks wished they had that kind of audience in prime time

YouTube was founded in February 2005 by then PayPal co-workers Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. Google bought the online video-sharing service less than 2 years later for $US1.65bn and turned it into a money-making machine by broadcasting everything from backyard videos to independent films.

Youtube makes it easy for all users to upload and share videos online. Most of them are for entertainment, but there are also educational and historic videos and thousands of music videos. Obviously, there is so much interesting stuff on Youtube, but I’m sure most users visit the site to simply see something funny. Even celebrities joined in on the fun; for example, Oprah and various other public figures have their own broadcasting channel on Youtube. What makes it special is that Youtube videos are not cut or censored (as long as it doesn’t show graphic violence and adult content). It’s easy and everyone with basic computer knowledge can do it.

There have been some exclusive broadcasts on Youtube in the last 5 years. Some highlights include:

• Queen Elizabeth address via The Royal Channel.
• The coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
• Ronaldinho - first video to receive one million views. It has a soccer star, an amazing stunt and the Nike brand - a very powerful combination.
• Free Hugs - a random act of kindness started by Juan Mann in Melbourne’s Pitt Street Mall became a global sensation.

According to YouTube, an average of 24 hours of video are uploaded to the site each minute and the amount of content uploaded in one week equals to about 150,000 full length films. Amazing!