Looking back at the Irish digital media footprint in 2010, I’m stumbling across a few video nuggets gleamed from the relentless social media stream. As 2010 really put the “dismal” in the “dismal science” of economics, maybe these YouTube robots, teddy bears and cartoon characters make as much sense of the Irish economic situation as anyone else.

Xtranormal.com lets you script your own little film with professional looking animation and quirky computer-generated voices, for example these robo-pundits worrying that the Irish people will get very angry at the economic situation…once the popular TV talent show “The X-Factor” wraps-up for the season.


Two Teddy Bears had a different take, summarized by She Bear who said, “The banks did not have enough of their own, so the government took the money from the people and gave it to the banks.”

As the Teddy Bears point out, the Irish crisis was part of a world economic meltdown, so next we go around the world to Taiwan for Next Media Animation's take on the EU bailout:

But the show must go on. Irish Media Nation caught the wave just before it became an internet tsunami for Irish dancers Suzanne Cleary, Peter Harding and producer Jonny Reed, whose “Hand Dance” YouTube video went from 100,000 views when first featured here in mid-September to an incredible 4,899,561 views as of today. That 2:20 minute clip lead to a string of high profile US TV appearances, including Good Morning America, Rachael Ray and this McDonald’s commercial:

"WorldTap" dancers Sneaky Steppers are following their flying footsteps around the globe and filed this New Year’s greeting from Singapore:



And now for something completely different: Irish inventor Michael Killian going sidesaddle through the streets of Amsterdam on a bicycle that begs the question “Why?”

And did we ever solve the Belfast filmaker's video mystery of the cell phone user at the 1928 Charlie Chaplain film opening? Over five million people have given his clip a look.

Ending this digital digest on a more sincere note is this heartfelt feature from the BBC radio series “Coming of Age Around the World” profiling Shaun Bradley, a young Irishman with Down's Syndrome who has left his “Mam” to live life on his own. It's the second piece from the top and well worth a listen.