Fans, Selfies And The Future Of TV

There may be no better way to get a look at the future of media that to spend a few days enveloped and overwhelmed by the new immersive world of YouTubers and their fans.  The truth is - for the uninitiated  it's sometimes hard to tell the difference.

Here's an example. I was in an elevator at the Hilton,  where many of the YouTube Stars are staying,  just next to the Anaheim Convention Center.  A two young girls got in the elevator.  One, with a "community" name tag, the other without a badge.  The "community" member recognized the other girl and called her by name with a squeal... "Miranda!!! Iove you."  Hugs and selfies commenced during the short ride, and moment's later - Miranda stepped off the elevator with her handler (who I strongly suspect was her dad).

It's that kind of event.  The line between the famous and the fans is blurry - and often the fan's are at Vidcon in part to learn how they can catapult their nascent YouTube dreams into the juggernaut that only YouTube can provide that truly changes the lives of hardworking young makers who can connect with the lens and turn viewers into fans.

Vidcon is just 8 years old - created by two young men who created a video blog known as -The VlogBrothers.  But Hank and John Green have turned their little gathering of video bloggers into a massive marketing event.  And John,  who's teen novel "The Fault in the Stars" became a sensational film - is of course a celebrity in his own right. But that doesn't stop the brothers from being genuinely amazied by just have fast their 8 year old event has turned into a 21,000 gathering of teens - capturing the fast growing web-celebrity trend like lightning in a bottle.

Vidcon is a “conference that celebrates online media,” says Hank Green. The Greens said they formed Vidcon, because “industries have conferences somebody was going to do it, so why not us?”  This year's Vidcon has a growing number of companies that would like a piece of the YouTube creator buzz. Companies like Vessel and Facebook.

But if YouTube is worried about losing audience or creators,  you couldn't tell it from the talk YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki's remarkable stats she unveiled at her Vidcon keynote.  Said Wojcicki, watch time on YouTube has accelerated and is now up over 60% year over year, the fastest growth rate we've seen in two years. The amount of content uploaded to YouTube has grown over the last year, too, with more than 400 hours uploaded every single minute. The number of people watching YouTube per day is up 40% year over year since March 2014

Susan Wojcicki at Vidcon 2015 / Photo: Steven Rosenbaum @Waaywire

“We’ve gone beyond an era of passive entertainment into a renaissance of immersive entertainment. Where the traditional rules of television—those 22-minute episodes or strict —are being rewritten in favor of new kinds of entertainment, interesting new faces and above all, engagement and community” said Wojcicki.

Vidcon is really about change - change in the way television is created, shared,  and viewed.  And Wojcicki was clear who she credits with the change - "You’re the stars of today. So YouTube’s strategy will always be the same: invest in you, our creators. You’re a massive part of the reinvention of television."

