YouTube if you want to

Video logger Edmund West has been using YouTube to promote his own culture and causes. Here he reflects on the site’s usefulness not just to him but to people in other areas of disability culture

I made my first YouTube video Politically Correct Labels on 27 January 2009. I had just been given a laptop plus webcam. I have now made 60 videos about history, autism (my disability), gadgets and film reviews. Most get a few dozen views, some get hundreds, my video about teaching Makaton (a form of sign language) now has 4,849 views.

I got an E in IT GCSE. I could never focus in practical lessons, everyone shouts and moves around simultaneously. Also, autism means you over-analyse so tiny errors can seem disastrous; I feared one wrong button pressed would destroy all my work.

But there were no barriers after IT became a hobby rather than a subject.

I moved from clunky desktop apps to versatile web apps. I attended mainstream schools, which were fine for quiet, written work but too chaotic for practical lessons.

At Christmas 2008, my interest in technology was revived when I saw Chris Bishop’s excellent computer science lectures on Channel 5. This plus the laptop and books such as Wikinomics and The Big Switch made me determined to become a vlogger (video blogger).

I believe vlogging will grow faster than podcasts and blogs because they only use words while vlogging is versatile. Pictures grab more attention than words.

I am a technophile so for me vlogging is part of preparing for the awaiting technological future.

I vlog because I have an opinion on everything but for professional journalism you must remove opinion from articles. YouTube is an outlet for my opinions.

Joining YouTube was easy, as was uploading video. The webcam is integrated with the laptop. If there is a WiFi signal I go to YouTube, click Upload then Record from webcam. If there is no signal I click Upload Video and use one made earlier with CyberLink YouCam. The uploading takes about ten minutes. The only barrier can be poor WiFi signal.

I get some negative comments but nothing vindictive.

YouTube can be a wonderful tool for all disabled people, especially those who are housebound or who have communication problems. I recommend YouTube for autistics who are shy around others but confident alone.

There are many autistic vloggers, I regularly watch Amanda Baggs and TheAnMish. Apart from anything else, you can see and hear how you look to others which is valuable for overcoming our social disability. I use my laptop to train other autistics for job interviews; they can monitor their volume, tone and facial expressions.

But it’s potentially Deaf people who’ll gain the most. In his book Seeing Voices, Oliver Sacks feared that the ease of teletypewriting would replace the vital skill of signing. Now, Deaf people can make BSL videos, and YouTube is gradually adding closed captions to its content.