Did you know that Youtube started out as a dating site?
I know, surprise surprise.
Co-founder Steve Chen said in an interview that it was originally designed for people to upload videos of themselves and to talk about what they’re looking for in a partner.
They registered the domain on February 14th, 2005.
How fitting that they chose Valentine’s Day as their launch date, with their original slogan being “tune in, hook up”.
They even ran ads attempting to pay women to upload dating videos.
At the time, online dating was gaining popularity, but still, they quickly pivoted when they noticed no one was uploading. Instead, they encouraged people to upload any kind of video they wished.
The first ever YouTube video is a great example - Me at the zoo was uploaded by one of the founders, it’s a clip talking about the elephants and how cool their “really really really long trunks are - and that’s pretty much all there is to say.”
So, my friends, I tell you the origin story of Youtube because I’m curious - Have you ever found yourself holding back from creating something because you're afraid it won't be perfect? Do you spend hours, days, or months planning and strategizing before actually taking any action?
Psssst…. don’t worry, I’ve fallen into that trap as well. Don’t be a victim of constant consumption.
Try and produce your own work based on the information you’re consuming. It will help you make sense of things and your future self will thank you for it.
Just start small and be open to change. That’s exactly what the YouTube founders did. They didn't have it all figured out from the beginning, and they didn't try to. They just started with what they had and then made changes as they gathered more information and feedback.
That’s exactly what I’m doing with my writing here, there’s no real concrete plan. I tried out a few longer-form articles, now I’m going to test out some short-form and see how that goes.
I know in general which topics I want to focus on. Writing down my thoughts and ideas on those topics and diving further into researching them is helping me gain a better understanding of the things I’m naturally interested in.
And that's the key to success when it comes to creating anything. Don't wait until you have everything figured out. Just start. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to exist.
You can always make changes and adjustments along the way.
“Action leads to insight more often than insight leads to action”
I’m saying this to you (the reader) just as much as I am to myself. Take that first step. Start creating. And if it doesn't work out, don't worry. You can always pivot, just like YouTube did.
Who knows, you might just create the next big thing. Or at the very least, a really cool cat video.
See you soon my friends.
<3 B