VidNet

VidNet is a video-sharing website based in the Philippines, with international operations in Singapore, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Founded by Eric Santiago and John Bianchi in 1998, it was originally launched as an online music video streaming platform, but expanded in 2000 to include the ability of uploading user-generated videos and social features (such as likes and dislikes, commenting and sharing).

As of 2019, over 20 billion videos have been uploaded to the site, while the first 75 were uploaded when during its first month when it introduced the ability to upload videos on the website in 2000.

Development (1993-1998)
Two wealthy men named Eric Santiago and John Bianchi worked at MTV Asia from 1993 until 1995. At the time when the Internet was starting to become widespread in other parts of the world, Santiago pitched an idea to MTV Asia on creating an online music video platform. However, because the adoption of the Internet was in its infancy at the time, MTV Asia rejected the idea. Both Santiago and Bianchi left MTV Asia and immigrated to the United States to work with RealNetworks in 1996. One year after they worked with RealNetworks, they went back to the Philippines to continue development for VidNet until its launch on May 7, 1998.

Launch (1998-2000)
Originally launched as an online music video on-demand platform on May 7, 1998, the first music video to be premiered on the website was Massive Attack's "Teardrop".

Initially, users were required to download and install the latest version of RealPlayer in order to view videos on the website. Later, support for Sorenson Video were added in late 1998, QuickTime Streaming in 1999 and Windows Media Video in 2000.

The servers initially ran on Microsoft's Windows NT 4.0 Server SP3 operating system, which they're equipped with an Intel Pentium Pro processor, 4GB of server RAM and two hundred 5GB SCSI hard drives. In 1999, the website bought fifteen Mac Server G3 450s and twenty Pentium III Xeon 500-based server racks in order to increase its capacity of visitors and videos that are stored on the server.