# YouTube

Standing (still-up). Founded 2005-02-14.
Site: [youtube.com](https://youtube.com)

Valentine's Day 2005. Bought by Google in 2006. Still the second search engine.

## Why it lasted
- It is cable for the internet, plus the search box for 'how do I'.
- Creators' livelihoods are on it. That is a political constituency, not just a feature.
- Google bought it before it could become a competitor. Distribution plus ads plus default on TVs.

## Near deaths
- Bandwidth costs in 2006 could have killed it pre-acquisition. Google's infra made the math work.
- TikTok ate short attention. YouTube Shorts is the defensive clone that had to exist.

## What would finish it
- A TV OS that buries the app, plus a creator exodus to a platform that pays. Nobody has both.

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