In just 19 years, YouTube has become a global platform with a massive user base and watch time. Technological innovations, especially the introduction of HTML5 and live streaming after Google’s acquisition, have played a big role, as well as personalized recommendation systems and AI technology to maximize the user experience.
YouTube is a video platform with 2 billion monthly active users and an average of 1 billion hours of watch time per day. These numbers show that YouTube is more than just a video-sharing site; it has become deeply embedded in the culture and daily lives of people around the world. It may surprise some readers to learn that YouTube was founded in 2005. In just 19 short years, YouTube has become a part of people’s lives around the world. This means that it’s not just a video platform, but a global hub for people to get information, share opinions, and be creative.
The commercial and marketing aspects of YouTube’s success have been well documented in books and lectures. In this article, we’ll take a look at what YouTube has accomplished from a technical perspective.
In its early days, YouTube was nothing more than a site made up of simple ideas like easy access and video sharing. However, after its explosion in popularity as a user-centered service, it was acquired by Google in 2006, and with the help of a huge amount of capital and technology, YouTube became a more sophisticated platform. Google’s acquisition was more than just a financial infusion. Bringing Google’s global network and cutting-edge technology to YouTube improved the user experience by leaps and bounds and allowed it to grow into a huge library of videos accessible around the world. Google’s cloud infrastructure and data centers have enabled YouTube to serve billions of users simultaneously, which directly translates into technological advancements for YouTube.
Naturally, the core of YouTube’s video streaming service was frequently updated and changed from year to year. Two of the biggest technological milestones were the adoption of HTML5 and live streaming. Since 2010, YouTube has been experimenting with HTML5 as a replacement for Adobe’s Flash Player for its video streaming service, but it wasn’t until 2015 that it finally went live with HTML5, which YouTube attributes to HTML5’s Variable Bitrate Technology (ABS). ABS is characterized by the ability to fluidly change the output data as the video is transmitted, depending on network conditions. Every video has a different data requirement throughout its duration, and by efficiently adjusting the data allocation according to the demand, it is possible to deliver high-quality and low-capacity videos. In addition to the benefits of ABS, the move to HTML5 has also helped YouTube expand into the mobile market, as it is more compatible across devices.
The move to HTML5 has allowed YouTube to work seamlessly across a wide range of devices, greatly improving the experience on mobile devices, especially smartphones and tablets. This has transformed YouTube from being just a PC-based platform to a global video platform that can be accessed anywhere, anytime. This has been instrumental in driving YouTube’s rapid growth in mobile ad revenue, along with increased time spent on YouTube.
Second, YouTube was a latecomer when it came to live streaming services. There were others who were already making waves in the live streaming space. However, the technology that made YouTube the world’s dominant video-on-demand player has allowed it to grow significantly in live streaming. YouTube, which had already introduced 4K resolution in its existing VOD videos, was able to stream 4K resolution in real time. YouTube has even been able to stream 360-degree VR videos in real time, making it the leader in live streaming from a technical standpoint. In addition, YouTube’s ability to stream simultaneously with other platforms and offer high quality video on demand (VOD) has given it a huge competitive edge in the live streaming market.
YouTube’s live streaming service doesn’t just offer high-quality video. Users could interact with live broadcasts in real time through a variety of interactive features, including live chat, sponsorships, and more, creating a closer connection between content creators and viewers. These technological advancements have helped YouTube evolve from a platform for video consumption to a platform for real-time interaction and engagement.
YouTube boasts the world’s second-best search system after Google. Along with this, its unique personalized recommendation system is the crown jewel of YouTube for everyone. So what concepts and technologies are actually used in both systems? First, at the core of a search engine is an algorithm that ranks the importance of the information being searched. The YouTube search engine’s algorithm takes advantage of YouTube’s uniqueness. This is, of course, the fact that it deals with a unified piece of content: videos. Whereas traditional search engines collect information from text and links, YouTube collects additional information from videos. This additional information includes views, likes, average watch time, comments, and more.
In 2012, YouTube announced that it would be giving more importance to average watch time rather than views. For example, if most of the people who watch a video skip past it within 10 seconds, it’s not worth watching and has very little importance. This is a good way to judge a video that grabs your attention with a compelling thumbnail. In the same year, YouTube recognized that it focuses on watch time rather than the percentage of time a video is watched. For example, a 10-minute video with 50% watch time on average is more important than a 3-minute video with 50% watch time with a higher percentage of watch time. This is why longer videos tend to rank higher. This change in the concept of the search algorithm serves YouTube’s purpose well, which is to keep more users on YouTube for longer periods of time.
Next, the personalized recommendation system is actually very similar to a search system. Whereas search engines focus on your search query to determine which videos to serve, the recommendation system is more personalized to you. In this case, there’s just one more consideration: your previous viewing history. If you were to visit YouTube’s home screen right now, it would suggest videos that might be of interest to you based on your previous history. YouTube’s personalized recommendation system plays an important role in maximizing user experience and keeping users on the platform longer. The system analyzes a huge amount of data to predict your interests and serve you content that matches them, so you never leave YouTube.
It’s been 18 years since YouTube was acquired by Google. One of the reasons YouTube’s co-founders, Steve Chen and Chad Meredith Hurley, sold the company was that their technology couldn’t keep up with the growing number of video streaming services. How has YouTube’s technology changed since then? As we’ve seen, YouTube’s technological capabilities are unrivaled. It is no exaggeration to say that YouTube is now leading the way in technology by introducing VR videos that can be enjoyed in 360-degrees, as well as technology that uses artificial intelligence to filter content.
In particular, YouTube has introduced the latest technologies such as AI-based automatic subtitle generation, real-time translation, and content analysis and categorization systems to greatly increase accessibility and convenience for users. These technologies are not just technological advancements, but have helped to further cement YouTube’s position as a global platform that spans multiple languages and cultures. YouTube is also constantly introducing new technologies and features to enhance the user experience, and these innovations continue to fuel YouTube’s growth.
We can’t wait to see what new technological advancements will lead to further YouTube innovations. YouTube is already a part of our daily lives and culture, so it will be interesting to see what technological advances will bring in the future.
