VidCon did not forget to be awesome. It was really more of a well-organized meet up than a conference. I already knew that the YouTube community was unique, but it became even more obvious here. Really it is amazing to see creative people doing what they do and, more importantly, building lasting connections at the same time. People were there to meet each other and support each other. It’s so similar to what we have here in the blogosphere, but on a far larger scale.
Meeting popular YouTubers I’ve watched for years was very cool. I think we were all surprised by just how normal and nice they all were. The first time Michael Buckley walked by me, I was awed. The 100th time he walked by me, he might as well have been anyone. But, I could not have been more impressed with him or his husband for talking to everyone who walked up to them all weekend. Same thing for iJustine, who I feel appropriately creepy for having basically stalked in 2007 when she was life casting. I got to tell her thank you for getting me to join Twitter three years ago and she could not have been more friendly or genuine. I kept my distance from most other people (it was enough just to see them), but on Friday night, Pham and I were walking outside to the parking lot and we walked by Ceciley who was just standing there texting and I felt compelled to turn around and tell her, well, I don’t remember what I said, but I do remember getting a hug.
Really, the most fun I had was spending 12+ hours a day with Jenn, Pham, and Nico. Highlights include getting “Chocolate Rain” stuck in our heads every time we walked past Tay Zonday. Talking about serious things and looking a little too closely at 18 year old boys with Jenn. Giving Pham a terrible time about everything, especially that time we were all sitting against a wall charging our phones and he yelled out at a popular YouTuber walking by, tried to get up but tripped over his feet and face planted, to which the popular YouTuber said, “Did that really just happen?” Drinking Blue Moons and yelling at each other over very loud music on Saturday night.
The whole reason I decided to attend the conference was because Ze Frank was speaking. He did not disappoint. As much as I love using all this social media stuff and even as much time as I’ve spent blogging about blogging, I don’t usually enjoy reading articles about it or hearing people disect it all. They never have much to say that those of us who use the stuff don’t already know. But, Ze has a lot of interesting things to say about how living these alternate lives, which are not really alternate but intertwine with our non-internet lives, on the internet is changing things.
What I found so interesting about Ze’s talk was his emphasis on participation and his reversal of two concepts. The first was the image of a person standing and staring down at her phone. People usually respond to that image by saying that we’re all so engaged in our phones that we’re not really living. There is of course room for that criticism, but Ze focused on the big smile or sudden laugh that person breaks into when they connect with the person on the other end of the phone. These connections we can build on the internet are amazing, especially, as Ze said, for those of us who aren’t particularly good at building them in real life.
The other reversal that struck me was his statement that “Connecting isn’t easy.” Maybe he was talking about connecting with people off of the internet, but I took him to be talking about making connections on the internet as well. We talk so much, at least I do, about how easy it is to connect to people through blogs or twitter, because for me it just happens so much faster than in real life. But, we all put a lot of work into building and maintaining these connections with each other. Reading blogs takes time, writing them takes time, and for how much I tweet (and I have been tweeting a lot this Summer) I probably open twitter and say nothing ten times as often. I like doing all of these things, so it doesn’t feel like work to me, but it’s engaged activity, so of course it takes more out of me than passive activities like watching TV. More than just the time involved, there’s the sometimes-awkwardness, the sometimes-silence, the sometimes-having no idea what to say, the sometimes-lack of inspiration, and the sometimes-utter screw ups. Connecting isn’t easy.
Ze also said, “Authenticity is hard work,” which were the absolute perfect words to articulate something that blogging makes me think a lot about, especially since I’ve started meeting bloggers. You get a different perspective on yourself when you meet people who have for a long time known you only through your blog. But, I’ll save that for another post.
VidCon was worth the five freeways it took to get there each day (California is ridiculous) and it was cool to be part of something so exciting.
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I could tell you were having an amazing time just by reading your tweets :)
I’m so happy you went and I finally got to meet and hang out with you. This weekend was the most fun I had in awhile.
Ze was right, connecting isn’t easy but one thing I keep on learning is that even though we have only connected online, when finally meeting that someone in person, the connection transfer quickly to real life. I’ve experienced that from you, KatieBlogs, Jenn and so many other bloggers/YouTubers. The foundation has been pre-planted; we just need to get over our fears and insecurities. Once that’s done, we’re able to enjoy each other’s company. At least that’s how I felt because I was truly nervous in meeting you. I was nervous in what you thought about me and if I would be what you expected. But once I realized that I should be myself, I started to have fun and enjoyed my wonderful company. Ze was right again that authenticity is hard work because we always want to put on our best face. We forget a lot; I know I do. And when we remember to be authentic, that’s when we really shine.
Thanks for a great weekend.
Great weekend wrap-up! Seriously!
You’re bunches of fun to hang out with. We need to do this more often. Seriously.
Awesome summary – I might have to ask to borrow/quote some of this for a report I’m writing on this event. An interest in how people connect was why I decided to pursue a career in social media in the first place, and this conference definitely taught me things I did not expect to learn, authenticity being hard work and screen-gazing as a true connection among them.
And for the record, Sam Adams beers DO taste like pretzels. ;)
I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not ALL sorts of jealous you got to hang out with those guys and that they got to hang out with YOU… but I loved this post. “These connections we can build on the internet are amazing, especially, as Ze said, for those of us who aren’t particularly good at building them in real life.” So true. And “authenticity is hard work” – as much of an oxymoron as that should be, it’s equally as true. It’s not hard to be genuine. The hard part comes with being comfortable doing so and freeing yourself of worrying about what other people are thinking. And caring. :)
Pham and I were having a conversation about the mediocrity and audience pleasing of some bloggers. The blogs I have continued to follow are the people who are really themselves in their posts, they don’t try to please and audience or succumb to what is popular. I love the quote “authenticity is hard work” because it is! Putting yourself out there and not hiding behind what is trendy or more commonly done is difficult even on the Internet.
Great post! So jealous that you & Pham hung out.
I’m glad you had a good time. A lot of people don’t get it, but it’s true that you can make amazing connections over the internet.
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