Scottish Roundup

Hello and welcome to the final roundup before the election, a special look at the YouTube videos that have been making an impact over the course of the campaign.

This roundup will just skim the surface. No doubt I have missed out some massively important video — all suggestions welcome in the comments please.

You will also be able to find a lot of videos of major political interviews from the BBC and STV as well as Party Election Broadcasts and things like that. I made a decision not to include most of that sort of thing though, preferring to focus on original contributions from ordinary YouTube users.

Because this post contains so many videos, I have stuck it ‘below the fold’. So click below to see the selection.

First up, an early classic that set the tone for YouTube missives to come.

Here is a message from the man himself, whatever his name is, as brought to you by bcnsco. Cheeky!

Something a bit more sober here from AYEscotland.

Another serious video, but not quite as depressing — a report looking at Muslims who are supporting the SNP.

Something from the Electoral Reform Society now, taking a look at apathy among young people. The first couple of interviews are pretty bad, but the video gets better towards the end. A few familiar faces from the blogosphere feature in the video.

Some actual issues here from Transform Scotland.

You would be forgiven for thinking that YouTube is just full of nationalists. You might be right. But with a bit of digging, I have found this video looking at Alex Salmond’s credentials.

Finally, what has undoubtedly been the most successful use of YouTube of the campaign. This video barely needs an introduction, but I couldn’t possibly leave it out of this roundup: The Best Wee Numpty in the World, by Alan Smart whose other YouTube contributions can be found here.

Quite good, until that tartan and shortbread stuff towards the end. The video was such a success that it ended up making an appearance on Newsnight Scotland during a report about YouTube. And sure enough, that report has appeared on YouTube. Prepare to enter a bizarre meta-world.

Now we need Newsnight to feature that video, and for that to appear on YouTube and we can go round in circles until the universe disappears up the bum.

Another interesting use of YouTube has been by Scottish Votepods, who have been uploading videos from their hustings throughout the campaign.

That’s it for now! The next roundup will be on Thursday evening after the polls close, with one last look at what the bloggers have been saying in the final days of the campaign. Nominations as usual please to scottishroundup@gmail.com. I’m trying to get a few more non-political blogs in Thursday’s roundup, because more people are bound to be talking about politics this week.

Update: Holyrood Watcher asked me to include Alan Smart’s “Labour Pie” video:

Also, I like HW’s conclusion on the role of YouTube videos in the election:

Will the vids make any practical difference in terms of the election results? Don’t know but they have certainly added to the gaiety of the nation. And perhaps Mr McConnell will think twice before he next mentions Scotland’s role in the world…