Instagram and YouTube provide platform for football-mad journalism student
A GCU student has taken his passion for an English football team to build an online following of just under 35,000 people – while also developing his practical learning skills from home.
First year Multimedia Journalism student, Hamish MacRae became interested in Manchester City from a young age and started his own dedicated Instagram page; ‘MCTID’, in 2018. Fast forward three years, he now has over 2000 posts and enough followers to fill his own football stadium.
Hamish explained his interest in English football and how his social media journey came to fruition.
He said: “I wanted to steer away from Scotland because I was keen to avoid a lot of the religious and political aspects that surround the game here. I was probably about eight years old when I started supporting City and I really threw myself into it.
I didn’t really get into the media side of things for quite a while. I was following City accounts on YouTube and Instagram and had been considering starting my own account and then finally decided to go for it.
It took a while to get going, it wasn’t like an overnight thing. If I loaded up my phone and saw I had ten likes on a post then I was pleased and felt it was churning along nicely. I just wanted a platform to discuss football with like-minded individuals, as well as having a place to get my opinions across. It was more of a gradual growth and over the years it’s just gained quite a large following.”
The page celebrates everything Manchester City related, with content ranging from new kits through to predicted match day lineups. Hamish’s passion for football hasn’t gone unnoticed and, when the inconvenience of a global pandemic struck, he was quickly able to find a way to continue enjoying the beautiful game from the comfort of his own home.
He explained: “As well as my Instagram, I also have a YouTube channel and had been in regular contact with one of my friends on there, who goes by the name of ‘Louis XI’. He started doing vlogs on his account from matches and then when lockdown came, he decided that he wanted to morph it into more of a podcast type idea, with watchalongs of matches that we could do from our bedrooms.
He invited me and one of our other friends, Nik. Obviously no-one could go to matches, so we did it all through last season when everything was behind closed-doors. It’s just a really enjoyable way to watch a match. I actually feel less nervous when I’m joined by other people, because I can talk my way through everything – it’s a lot of fun!”
Hamish added: “It’s been really good for me to connect with other people online - not just from a footballing perspective but also from a wider point of view. There were times in lockdown where you would only really be seeing your family face to face. I was obviously still speaking to classmates and friends over the phone but being involved in all of this on YouTube definitely did feel like a bit of an escape.”
Following an easing of restrictions earlier this year, Hamish was lucky enough to attend campus once a week – providing him with a taste of University life. He’s now looking forward to returning for the start of his second year in September and believes his passion for Manchester City can help benefit his studies and future aspirations.
He explained: “There are such fantastic facilities at GCU that hopefully I’ll be able to see more of next year. With regard to recording and broadcasting, my work on Instagram and YouTube probably has helped to prepare me for when we use those facilities.
I’m also really keen to keep my options open in terms of my eventual career. Sports is definitely my favoured route but it’s still subject to change – there are so many different options!”
The beginning of the new academic year will come just a few weeks after the start of the new English Premier League season – and Hamish already has his plans in place for the big kick-off.
He said: “I’m going to be moving into a flat with some of my coursemates over the next few weeks. I’m hoping it won’t impact on the YouTube work too much but I’ll definitely keep the Instagram going! I’ve already got two City games lined up to go to for the new season - I can’t wait!”
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter