YouTube has celebrated its 20th anniversary with the late 2000s phenomenon Rickrolling.
YouTube has celebrated its 20th anniversary with Rickrolling.
The video sharing site was first registered in April 2005 and now, in honour of the milestone, the company has invited users to click on a link that takes them to Rick Astley’s 1980s classic ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.
Ina blog post, YouTube said: “What better way to celebrate our birthday than with our own Yoodle? Check it out today and give it a click for a surprise 😉 And speaking of logos, we’ll also have a new, limited YouTube logo in honor of our 20th year. But did you know our original YouTube logo design is a nod to our Bay Area roots? In 2005, when one of YouTube’s founders, Chad Hurley, was en route to YouTube’s office, inspiration struck: a blend of the logo for the CalTrain, a commuter line in the Silicon Valley, with the TV Guide design.”
When the link is clicked, the users is reminded of the viral prank from the late 2000s where they were invited to click on an unassuming website only to be presented with the music video for the classic track.
The website has also celebrated the anniversary with a host of other throwback features, and noted that more than 20 billion videos all from a 15-second clip that was uploaded way back when.
The company said: “Pop the confetti, because YouTube is turning 20! From the 19-second clip that started it all, to now over 20 billion uploaded videos,1 including music, Shorts, podcasts, and more, we’ve grown so much in just two decades.”
According to the post, on average, there are over 20 million videos uploaded daily to YouTube and YouTube users averaged over 100 million comments on videos on a daily basis last year.
YouTube celebrates 20th anniversary with throwback Rick Astley prank
