VidCon was about community, not vlogging
July 14th, 2010
0If you follow our tweets, then you know I took the weekend off from being a blogger and went to VidCon. I don’t think I quite pulled off being a vlogger – I shied away from most cameras – but the YouTube community was very welcoming of this blogger.
In case you don’t know what VidCon is, it’s the first ever three-day YouTube conference where the most influential and popular video makers and their fans could meet, interact off-screen and dance. Yes, there was a lot of dancing. Check out the crazy dance party that took place during Rawn’s accordion performance. Even the registration line was rickrolled acapella-style!
The most important thing I took away from VidCon is that no one should under-estimate the power of community. The YouTube community is already huge and it’s still growing. It was great to see that even people as young as 10 were getting involved – one youngster was walking around with a camera and mic getting interview after interview!
There are communities all over the place, especially in the digital world, but while many just exist, the YouTube community is acting, and I don’t mean that in the entertainment sense. The following people really stood out because of their passion and ability to move an audience.
Josh Sundquist
Josh is a best-selling author, motivational speaker, and a Paralympic ski racer. He was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of nine and instead of losing his life, his leg was removed. His 10-minute presentation at VidCon had the audience laughing, crying and clapping. His story was incredible and he has the best sense of humor. The way he spoke about the YouTube community was moving: “YouTube is the only place where I don’t feel disabled.”
Shawn Ahmed
Shawn is a 29-year-old from Canada and was one of the older speakers at VidCon. He is the founder and creator of The Uncultured Project – “a journey to try and make the world a better place one meaningful difference at a time.” His current goal is to end extreme poverty.
He showed a short video (above) during his presentation, which was followed with the only standing-ovation of the entire conference. His story offered a unique view of the YouTube community. The community’s response to his video was extraordinary. It’s proving that this platform exists for more than just parodies and keyboard cats. You can see that presentation here.
Ze Frank
Ze Frank is credited with the creation of the vlog. In 2001, he released a How to dance properly video, which was one of the first videos to go viral. This was only the beginning of a series of virtual projects, that include When Office Supplies Attack, Young Me, Now Me, From 52 to 48, Songs You Already Know and Angrigami, which took hate mail he received and his readers turned it into something beautiful. He’s since proven to be one of the most influential online entertainers who brings audiences an experience they’ll never forget. Watch Ze’s presentation: part 1, part 2, part 3.
Dan Brown
Dan is a 20-year-old who blew the VidCon audience away. He noted that kids are growing up with YouTube, which was obvious by looking at the audience. He first became well-known when he solved taught the world how to solve a rubix cube. At VidCon he announced Dan 3.0, a project that requires him to put complete control of his life into his viewers hands for one year. He has teamed up with Revision 3 to create a Digg-like engine with small daily goals, slightly larger weekly goals and big monthly goals. While YouTube has had a lot of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ types of videos, this will be the first time a vlogger lives his life based on his audience’s choices. It was an announcement that had many people talking afterward, including parents!
These YouTubers are connecting with their users, complete strangers, and great causes. It’s amazing to see what else is happening inside the community – it’s so easy to focus on the keyboard cats, laughing babies and ukulele masterminds that sometimes we forget that there are amazing things happening right under our noses. It’s so great to see a platform like YouTube making these experiences possible.
Were you at VidCon? What are some of your favorite moments? Share stories or videos below in the comments!
[Photos by John Pham – thanks!]
Tagged with: vidcon, youtube, Community, Conferences/Conventions
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Jennifer Beese
Jennifer is the Community Manager. When she’s not blogging or tweeting you can usually find her practicing stand-up comedy in front of her bathroom mirror.
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