YouTube's First Video Joins Museum History

The Victoria & Albert Museum has acquired a reconstruction of the original YouTube watch page, marking a significant addition to its digital history collection. This acquisition prominently features "Me at the zoo," the very first video uploaded to the platform by co-founder Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005.

This historic 19-second clip, viewed nearly 380 million times, represents a pivotal moment in user-generated content and media consumption. The original watch page design also showcased early user interface conventions, such as rating and sharing features, which are now standard across many digital platforms.

The V&A collaborated with YouTube to recreate the watch page's design as it appeared on December 8, 2006, using archival data. This process of collecting and preserving complex digital objects aims to explore how the internet has shaped our world. The museum will also present the reconstruction process in a mini display at V&A East Storehouse.

This acquisition builds upon the V&A's ongoing commitment to preserving significant digital designs. Previous digital acquisitions by the museum include WeChat, Flappy Bird, and the design for the mosquito emoji, underscoring its dedication to documenting the evolution of digital culture.