YouTube celebrates 5th birthday

Chad Hurley, Co-Founder and CEO of YouTube, has announced that the video site he helped create into the biggest in the world turned five this week.

In a rather low-key celebration, a blog was posted which outlined everything that is good about the site and the reasons YouTube needs to stay doing what it's doing.

Oh, and Hurley also posted a tweet on Twitter announcing that 20 minutes of footage is uploaded to the site every minute.

"When we registered the YouTube domain on February 14, 2005, we set out to create a place where anyone with a video camera and an internet connection could share a story with the world," said Hurley in the blog.

"Five years into it, we're as committed as ever to the core beliefs and principles that guided YouTube's creation."

In the post, Hurley also notes about being ahead of the game and how the site will still continue to elevate.

"Our goal [is to] set the standard in online video delivery. Fast loading, high quality videos need to be able to play on any device, anywhere, anytime," he explained.

"And whether we're supporting 1080p, 3D, or deploying auto-speech recognition technology, we innovate with an eye toward providing the best possible experience for all of you."

Clip art

We would have hoped that YouTube would have come up with its five best videos to celebrate five years of being in existence. It hasn't. So it is up to us to do the dirty work.

Here is out pick of the five best videos over the last few years that have made us chuckle, cry and think wonder how some people have so much time on their hands. Enjoy.

Hyperactive - Lasse Gjertsen

His mad hair and mad skills showed everyone that people can be entertained with just a camcorder and a mouth. Something Paris Hilton learned a few years before.Hyperactive - Lasse Gjertsen

Thriller

1,500 plus inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention Centre dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Simple and all the more poignant after the musician's death.

Numa Numa Guy

One of the original internet superstars is also one of the best. His real name may be Gary Brolsma but we know him as Numa Numa Guy.

Evolution Of Dance

Nobody knows the name Judson Laipply but his six minute dance skit has become one of the most watched videos ever on YouTube. Puts your own crap robot dance to shame.

OK Go – Here it goes again

You know you are an internet sensation when your ideas are borrowed by ad-men. And this is just what happened to OK Go, when their dancing treadmill routing was snapped up for a Berocca ad. The original, though, is far far better and perfect YouTube fodder.