YouTube turns 5 and hits viewing milestone

Beginning in April, 2005, with the upload of a short video by co-founder Jawed Karim, YouTube's popularity and share of online eyeballs has continued to skyrocket. AfterDawn has a great timeline of YouTube's milestones over the years.

Now, five years on, the video sharing giant boasts 2 billion views each day - more than all of the three main U.S. television networks combined. Every single minute of the day more than 24 hours of video footage is added and it is the third most heavily trafficked website on the Internet.

"Since we never could have predicted all that happened in YouTube's first five years, we certainly can't imagine what the future will look like," announced YouTube on its blog. "But we do know there's a lot more to be done."

One thing that must be done for YouTube to continue to grow is to close the gap on the time YouTube visitors spend on the website. Currently, each spends about 15 minutes per day viewing content on YouTube compared to around five hours watching television.

"There is only so much time that people can spend watching a cat on a skateboard," said new media consultant Derek Anderson. "If YouTube really wants to displace cable and satellite television, it needs better content."

Tags: content, online video, television, upload, YouTube