YouTube is the brainchild of three former PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. The three creators originally set out to create a video dating site called "Tune In, Hook Up" where users were able to upload video clips and share with others for free, helping other users decide if they wanted to go on a date with one another.
However, following the infamous Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident in 2004, the creators realized that there was not a platform for users to upload and share videos. "People were collecting videos on their phones, but there was no easy way to share them," Chad Hurley said in an early interview. So, the three pivoted, creating YouTube.Â
The domain, YouTube.com, launched on February 14, 2005, while the capabilities to upload videos to the site was integrated on April 23, 2005.