Night Light | VidCon's Value

Takeaways from VidCon

VidCon is always one of my favorite weekends of the year. It’s great to see clients, creators, and friends from around the industry. This year things felt different though, and I noticed a number of changes that have me thinking about how the convention has changed post-Covid.

Here are the biggest changes I saw at VidCon:

1️⃣ There’s more separation between creators and fans - outside of meet and greets, you won’t see creators roaming the halls or outside hotels

2️⃣ The main conference hall wasn’t as packed as it was in the past - TikTok and swipe content doesn’t create the same level of fandom as long-form

3️⃣ There was a lot more emphasis on growth hacking and optimizing short-form, less talk about just making better videos

4️⃣ The Dream SMP crew is still packing the house - Dream meet and greet and Banter Live were some of the biggest events this year

I realize that conventions change over time—and it should change with the times—but we can’t forget that community and fan interaction was why VidCon became popular in the first place

Jimmy and Arnold Schwarzenegger plan lift in LA
MrBeef.

Elon and Zuck are still teasing a cage match
Are you not entertained!?

Ryan Reynolds buying piece of Alpine’s F1 team
The FX series order is sure to follow suit.

Logan and KSI’s Prime masterclass
Are we sure they were all empty?

Barbie’s incredible marketing team
We’re all in a Barbie World.

Adsense value on shortform video
$1900 on 300m views is barely worth getting out of bed for.

YouTube testing playable games on-site
A new player has entered the console wars.

Major Hollywood studios skip out on San Diego Comic Con
Could lead to the convention’s very own Endgame.

Niantic lays off 230 while doubling down on Pokémon Go
How are we going to get our steps in?