Mw

mw (born: ) is an American YouTuber and former snowboarder known for uploading the second video on YouTube.
==Identity==
An old screenshot from the Wayback Machine shows that mw was 36 years old as of 2011.https://web.archive.org/web/20111111074001/https://www.youtube.com/user/mw Assuming he did not lie about his birth date, this would put his birth year in 1974 to 1975.
The same screenshot states that mw is from the United States.
Some FANDOM users have made claims of knowing MW's real name and birth date, stating he was born on February 8, 1975, or that his real name is "Michael Williams" or "Matt Wright" (probably from the assumption that his username is derived from his initials). However, these claims have not been substantiated.
==Videos==
===My Snowboarding Skillz===
left|thumb|230x230px|mw's first video
His first video, "My Snowboarding Skillz", being uploaded on April 23, 2005, is the second oldest YouTube video of all time, and one of three videos uploaded on the first day of YouTube services, the other video being "Me at the zoo" and "Rolling down a hill" by Jawed Karim, a co-founder of YouTube.
The video begins by showing the protagonist (stated to be the uploader by the title) as he glides over snow in an area surrounded by trees. Next to his starting position are three other people with snowboards: they might be waiting for their turn, just resting, or doing something else. 1.2 seconds into the video, a platform becomes visible, which his snowboard comes into contact with 3.5 seconds into the video. By this time, another figure laying in the snow becomes visible in the background. In the following second, the protagonist proceeds to glide over the platform. However, 4.3 seconds into the video, the protagonist is struck by tragedy as he begins to lose his balance, and 5 seconds into the video his body crashes into the snow while his snowboard continues to glide on the platform sideways. However, the snowboard itself finishes the journey across the platform, having completed its journey 5.4 seconds into the video. 6.6 seconds into the video, the protagonist begins to stand up, putting his front arms on the snow while preparing to raise his legs. 9.6 seconds into the video, the protagonist is afoot once more. 10 seconds after the video's commencing, the protagonist stands upright. The video ends at 10.6 seconds.
The video is exactly 10.59 seconds long, and has a video quality of 240p (the maximum video quality at the time). It was uploaded on 23 April 2005, at 3:56:09 AM. The video has 20,724 Comments as of 17 April 2023. As of April 2023, the comment to receive the most likes is "this is the second oldest video on this site, correct?", left by adkgirlsince01 on 13 May 2015 (having 371 likes).
====Alleged Jawed comment====
On 15 December 2016, a FANDOM user (User:Jjrapper100) added text to COBALTGRUV's Wikitubia page, claiming that Jawed left a comment on "My Snowboarding Skillz" sometime in 2005, saying "Ouch!". To back up this claim, Jjrapper100 used several (dead) links to currently non-existent YouTube comments. As of 2023, no YouTube comments from Jawed's account exist on "My Snowboarding Skillz". It is possible that such a comment did indeed once exist but were deleted. However, due to link rot this is unverifiable.
===My Tubing Skillz===
left|thumb|194x194px|mw's second video (reupload)
mw made a second video on 8 September 2005 called "My Tubing Skillz". It was removed for violating YouTube's terms of service sometime between 16 June 2010 and 8 September 2011.https://web.archive.org/web/20100616070548/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-NAY1A0uGchttps://web.archive.org/web/20110908064615/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeAltgu_pbM Vintagegirl reuploaded "My Tubing Skillz" on 9 February 2022, while not disclosing how she obtained the video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRU18HPmNo However, since she was among the first users to make an account and part of the initial community, it's possible that she knew mw personally. The description of the reupload states: "Tubing down Boulder Creek in Colorado".
==Last account activity==
mw liked the video "Occupy - Still Free (Take a Chance on Me) [Full]" sometime in 2012. This appears to be his YouTube account's last activity before going dormant. As late as 2017 (when likes were still public), there was no evidence of any further YouTube likes or other activity.https://web.archive.org/web/20170713162243/https://www.youtube.com/user/mw
==Discovery==
For the first 4 years of his channel's existence, mw received virtually no attention. During this period, the only comment he received on "My Snowboarding Skillz" was "i wish i was that good" by MaCunaFa (presumably an acquaintance) on 4 October 2006.Deduced using https://hadzy.com
The video started to gain some attention in 2008-2009. On 15 April 2008, NorCalCorsello commented: "As far as I can tell, this is one of two videos posted on April 23, 2005. There are no videos with a date earlier. This the lesser known video from the first day of YouTube. You found it! Good work". However, attention was still scant at this time. On 27 May 2009, Yoav Gutterman commented: "2nd video ever made on youtube and still under 6000 views??? pathetic". May 2009 was the first month in which multiple comments were made on the video.
On 2 April 2019, almost 14 years after the video was uploaded, a user commented that the video had appeared in their recommended feed. There are no earlier instances of commenters reporting this. Only 1 other commenter reported having this video recommended to them in that year. Reports of "My Snowboarding Skillz" appearing in recommended feeds swelled significantly in 2020 onwards, with over a dozen commenters reporting it in their recommended feed throughout that year. Such comments increased even further in 2023: for example, in July 2023, more than 200 users reported seeing this video in their recommended feed.
The video would continue to rise in popularity over the years:Deduced with waybackmachine screenshots
* 20,915 views as of 16 June 2010
* 47,948 views as of 8 September 2011
* 87,418 views as of 1 July 2012
* 124,319 views as of 2 June 2013
* 156,629 views as of 20 August 2014
* 234,782 views as of 4 June 2015
* 328,280 views as of 23 June 2016
* 407,658 views as of 4 June 2017
* 534,215 views as of 6 September 2018
* 684,592 views as of 29 May 2019
* 1,009,425 views as of 28 May 2020
* 1,573,562 views as of 12 August 2021
* 1,993,145 views as of 3 June 2022
* 2,504,973 views as of 17 April 2023
* 4,512,250 views as of 4 July 2024
==References==
es:Mw
Category:Sports YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2005
Category:History of YouTube