February 14 marks the 20th anniversary of YouTube’s founding

20 years ago this week, the world was introduced to a platform that went on to redefine video sharing, internet culture, and creator content. On February 14, 2005, ex-PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim officially founded YouTube.

As the story goes, YouTube was initially conceived as a video-forward dating site before eventually taking shape as a home for user-generated videos of all types. Years after the fact, Karim noted that the “Nipplegate” — i.e. the fallout from Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s NSFW Super Bowl routine — influenced the YouTube founders’ decision to develop an on-demand video service.

The rest, as they say, is history. YouTube went on to become a pop culture behemoth, spawning wave after wave of influential creators. Chen, Hurley, and Karim ceded control to Google after a $1.65 billion deal that closed in 2006. Now, two decades after its founders first registered the YouTube name, the indomitable video platform is still leading the industry it represents in many consumers’ minds.

YouTube has faced numerous hurdles along the way, including internal controversies and challenges from upstart platforms. But as the likes of Vimeo, Revver, Blip, Vessel, Vine, and TikTok have come and gone, YouTube has endured as a go-to source for creator content

, music videos, podcasts, and much more. Its continued relevance at age 20 is a reminder of the powerful name recognition it has cultivated and a sign of Google’s dominant place in the tech industry.

Though YouTube turns 20 in February, its first video won’t reach that milestone until April 23. That’s the date Karim cataloged his momentous trip to the elephant enclosure by uploading “me at the zoo.”

If you’re eager to reminisce about YouTube culture past and present, keep an eye on this space. We’ll have more to say later this year about YouTube’s two-decade run and the culture changes the platform has ushered in along the way.

In the meantime, we can take a moment to celebrate another seminal video platform that is due for a round-number milestone. If you think 20 years is a long run online, take a look at Newgrounds. The pioneering hub known for its pre-YouTube flash animations is turning 30 this year. It’s official: The internet is all grown up.