Tubefilter’s Guide To VidCon 2014

By 06/23/2014
Tubefilter’s Guide To VidCon 2014

From June 26th to June 28th, the online video community will make its way to the Anaheim Convention Center for VidCon, the yearly gathering for all things YouTube. While several other conventions have built up their own yearly spectacles, VidCon remains the single biggest and most important event of the year for the YouTube community. Dozens of YouTube stars will be in attendance, and daily panels will keep attendees abreast of current online video trends.

For those who plan to attend, here is a sampling of a few notable panels that will be worth checking out. The location and time (in PST) of each panel is listed in parentheses:

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Thursday (Industry Day)

Keynote Thursday (Ballroom, 9:30 AM) – As in previous years, VidCon’s first day caters to industry professionals. VidCon founders Hank and John Green will open things up with their yearly greeting, but we recommend sticking around to hear Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos, who we expect to shed light of the rumored off-YouTube platform his company is building.

Just Ask: Letting Your Audience Pay (Room 213, 11:15 AM) – Crowdfunding has emerged as a vital force for YouTube creators, and this panel, moderated by Tubefilter’s own Drew Baldwin, will feature a discussion between crowdfunding platforms and the creators who make use of them. Among the participants will be Jack Conte, whose Patreon platform just raised $15 million in venture capital.

Copyright on YouTube? (Room 213, 3 PM) – While the chaos caused by YouTube’s ContentID system has died down, it is still vital for creators to know how far their intellectual property extends. Tubefilter’s Joshua Cohen will moderate a panel on YouTube rights management that will include a collection of lawyers, rights managers, and representatives from multi-channel networks like Fullscreen and ZEFR.

YouTube Address (Ballroom, 4 PM) – The crown jewel of VidCon’s Industry Day is YouTube’s annual keynote. This year, it will be CEO Susan Wojcicki who will run through recent developments on the site. We expect Wojcicki to update attendees on the Google Preferred advertising program, but we’re most excited to hear about YouTube’s new music service. The Spotify competitor’s launch has been overshadowed by some controversial dealings with indie music labels, but we still expect to get our first look at the service, which has spent more than a year in development.

The entire schedule for Industry Day can be found here.

Friday

The Leap of Faith (Room 202, 9:30 AM) – In one of the most star-studded panels at this year’s VidCon, top YouTubers will discuss the broad trends that have made their channels tick. Panelists will include MysteryGuitarMan, Jimmy Tatro, Strawburry17, and Joey Graceffa.

YoungTubers (Room 202, 12:30 PM) – The success of DigiTour has proven that teenage YouTubers and Viners are changing the face of the online video community. This panel will feature some of those young influencers as they discuss their challenges in a creative community previously dominated by twentysomethings.

Workshop: How to YouTube (Room 201D, 2 PM) – There will be many panels at VidCon that will hone in on the creative and promotional elements of YouTube success, but this panel will be one of the few offering technical tips for YouTube creators. Crash Course producer Nicholas Jenkins will offer filming and editing tips for creators who want their videos to look as professional as possible.

Deal or No Deal (Room 207, 3:30 PM) – Most content creators who support themselves on YouTube use deals with networks, brands, and agencies to supplement their YouTube careers. This panel will explore the difference between a “good deal” and a “bad deal”. The panelists–such as The Fine Bros, John Green, and Hannah Hart–will be experienced and prominent members of the online video community who have negotiated plenty of deals of their own.

Saturday

Less Than Famous (Room 202, 9:30 AM) – VidCon is a great place to meet the content creators on the fringe of the YouTube community. While they may not have millions of subscribers, these creators have found a way to turn YouTube videomaking into a worthwhile enterprise. This discussion, hosted by Amanda McLoughlin, will provide plenty of insights for attendees with small YouTube channels and big plans.

Faceless Channels (Room 202, 11 AM) – Content creators who do not show their faces in their videos face unique challenges. In this panel, Tubefilter’s Drew Baldwin will moderate a discussion between several of these faceless YouTubers. Among the panelists will be Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown of ASAPScience, who launched a conversation about anonymity on YouTube when they came out as gay a couple of weeks ago.

Online vs. TV (Room 206, 12:30 PM) – This panel will feature online-native content creators who have transitioned to TV and vice versa. It won’t necessarily be the most informative panel at VidCon, but it will be great fun. The panelists here will include some of the most entertaining figures in the industry, such as Chris Hardwick, Lee Newton, and Harley Morenstein.

Growing Your Channel (Room 202, 3:30 PM) – After speaking to the industry on Thursday, YouTube will face its own community on Saturday. YouTube Audience Development Strategist Bailey Rosser will host a panel that will include cross-section of YouTube professionals. This group, which will include Elliott Morgan, Yousef Erakat, and Blair Fowler, will share their best practices for content creation and promotion.

We wish everyone who plans to attend a happy Vidcon. For a complete list of community panels, click here.

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