There was no hiding from the fact that it was a federal election year for Australia. Those who were fastiduously watching every speech, jibe and promise were equally balanced by those watching political fallout on YouTube.
Among the most watched was an, at times, excruciating interview with Liberal candidate Jaymes Diaz, who faced a relentless Channel Ten journalist while on the campaign trail in the electorate of Greenway.
It takes exactly six minutes for an apparent PR minder to step in and end the interview. How long Mr Diaz would later spend in remedial policy revision as a result is still unclear.
JAYMES DIAZ STUMBLES DURING ELECTION CAMPAIGN
The western Sydney candidate was at least able to laugh about himself later, during a stunt for ABC show The Hamster Decides.
Fellow Liberal candidate Fiona Scott of Lindsay also hit controversy when she linked hospital waiting times and traffic jams to asylum seekers during an interview with ABC.
The incident didn't stop her going on to win her seat. It possibly didn't help that her main opponent, then-Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury, had a public spray of his own, lashing out at a DMG journalist during a radio interview.
FIONA SCOTT'S CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS
One Nation candidate Stephanie Banister's confused understanding of Islam, aired by Channel 7, caused her to later pull out of the race altogether.
"I don't oppose Islam as a country, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia," she said in an interview.
ONE NATION CANDIDATE BACKS OUT OF RACE
Clive Palmer went from political sideshow this year to bona fide member of parliament. This, we present without commentary.
CLIVE PALMER TWERKING
Of course, it wasn't just politics causing the headlines this year.
When Amanda Berry escaped from the Cleveland, Ohio house where she had been held captive for ten years along with Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, Charles Ramsey was the first person she encountered. The interview he gave shortly after was seen by millions of people around the globe.
CHARLES RAMSEY INTERVIEW
The story in itself was miraculous and hard to believe: Two planes collide mid-air above a Wisconsin field, and despite a fiery explosion and one plane losing a wing, all survive.
Several skydivers inside the plane had cameras strapped to their helmets, capturing the whole thing from multiple angles. The footage is as scary as it is remarkable.
SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH
A five-year-old boy who fought a big battle against leukemia got a fitting reward this year, with the entire city of San Francisco transforming itself into Batman's Gotham City.
GOTHAM CITY COMES TO LIFE
Video footage of a Canadian astronaut singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" from space has clocked up 19 million views since it was posted on YouTube earlier this year in May.
During his five months aboard the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield posted a number of videos of himself preparing meals and even explaining how to vomit in space.
Some observers called it the first music video to be made in space.
ASTRONAUT SINGS DAVID BOWIE HIT
New Zealand politician Maurice Williamson garnered international praise for his speech in parliament ahead of a vote on gay marriage.
A minister in the conservative National Party government, Mr Williamson joked ahead of the vote that he had seen "the most enormous big gay rainbow" over his electorate and he had taken it as a sign to back the change.
NEW ZEALAND MP DELIVERS 'BIG GAY RAINBOW' SPEECH
