Video sharing service YouTube marked its 20th anniversary on Wednesday, marking the literal billions of videos that have been uploaded to the service. It all began with a simple 19-second clip of co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo titled “Me at the zoo.”
“Alright, so here we are in front of the, uh, elephants, and the cool thing about these guys is that, is that they have really, really, really long, um, trunks, and that’s, that’s cool. And that’s pretty much all there is to say,” Karim says in the narration.
“Me at the Zoo” may not have the lasting impact, perhaps of Neil Armstrong’s “One small step for man,” moon landing, but as narration goes, it was arguably better than Thomas Edison’s first recording on a phonograph, in which he simply recited the “Mary Had a Little Lamb” nursery rhyme.
“YouTube’s twentieth anniversary is a notable milestone in the evolution of the internet and video-based social media. This anniversary also shows that these impactful technologies are still very young. Though our knowledge increases as more research is published, we still do not have the full scope of YouTube’s influence yet,” said Dr. Julianna Kirschner, lecturer in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.
Back To The Zoo With A Very Different Message
Now, two decades after Karim’s day out at the zoo, animal rights supporters released another video, this time called “Us Still At the Zoo.” It presented a more carefully considered message that didn’t just note the “really long” trunks, but was meant to put a focus on the plight of animals in captivity.
“The 20th anniversary of the first YouTube video is a great way to raise this topic,” explained Diederik Jeangout, the creative head of Make it Happener, which produced the recent video for World Animal Protection USA.
He explained in an email that combining footage of the very first clip, help show that over the past two decades the issue of the treatment of animals hasn’t changed much.
“As it’s a seemingly meaningless clip of someone enjoying a visit to the zoo, it’s much more than that. It’s a portal to two decades ago, showing how we treated animals back then and how essentially nothing really changed,” added Jeangout. “Yes, we’ve put these magnificent creatures in slightly larger enclosures and we’ve dressed these confinements with faux rocks and bamboo walls, but we’re still holding them in 700,000 times smaller cages compared to their natural habitat.”
Direct Message From Simple Video
There is no shortage of activist videos on YouTube today, but what might make “Us Still At the Zoo” stand out is that it could be linked going forward with the historic first video.
“From such a simple video — a man standing in front of elephants at the zoo talking about how cool are their trunks — we got the incredible platform that is YouTube. And this is an interesting idea, using YouTube’s first video as a springboard for something that carries a deeper message,” said Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer in the Communication, Film and Media Studies Department at New Haven University’s College of Arts & Sciences.
“Given the resurgence of the 2005 video, it is a smart marketing move to create ‘Us Still at the Zoom.’ The audience analysis strategy is effective for activists to use while communicating their intended messages,” added Kirschner. “However, whether they convince audiences not already primed to accept or consider their message is unlikely. Audiences would need to be considering the activists’ stance already or firmly in their camp for the messaging to be effective.”
The message could fall on deaf ears or worse.
“As with so many messages meant to sway the public, the people who create such things walk a fine line between earnest education and, well, being maudlin, as in having a person deliver the voiceover as a dead elephant,” warned Campbell. “The message can get lost in the method, and it’s unfortunate, because this is an important message from World Animal Protection. It’s sad to think we’re still caging these beautiful beasts.”
Then there is also the danger that engagement can also come in the opposite direction. Instead of bringing users to their cause, it may have the opposite effect.
“Users with different stances might respond to these posts as they would with rage bait,” said Kirschner. “Activists should expect these distinctly polarizing perspectives in their video comments. The effectiveness tends to remain with those already primed for the message, while the rage-bait commenters might unintentionally amplify these messages to more users. The latter case is key for activists: Accept rage bait as the cost of doing business, so the message can be amplified and potentially reach those that might be convinced.”
