No VidCon for Old Men

We’re alive. BARELY. Did we go to VidCon, an event that Kevin has been featured at for a decade? Or… did we go to TikTokCon for the very first time? The answer to both questions appears to be YES.

The highlight of the trip was hanging out with the TCU community, from an incredible dinner (and 40oz. steak) with Minty, Michael, and Andy, to a breakfast with Doejens and both past and future TCU guests. The lowlight? WE ALL GOT COVID, and we’re arbitrarily deciding that ManyKudos was the Patient Zero.

YouTube was just… barely present at VidCon. It’s all TikTok now, for better and worse. We recognized virtually no one at the hotel or at the event – and the event itself was sparsely attended with an anemic main floor. Even the 2nd floor, which is always a buzzing hub of all the YouTubers you know, was nearly empty. Tumbleweeds.

What’s it mean? For one, Kevin’s got a theory about whether TikTokers actually have real fans. Is it possible to develop a community when your viewers are just Tinder-swiping through content? Even if they know you, is there an attachment to your content? Parasocial communities are bad, but having no connection might even be worse.

Kevin had a great panel with William Osman, Allen Pan, Michael Reeves, and more, but that turned out to be an accident. Matt had a grueling travel schedule from LA to Austin, where he spent 8 hours on stage moderating panels at Glink’s LightWave. And from the Covid to the hangouts, it all raises questions about what we do next year. And the answer right now? We don’t know. Maybe the future is Creator Clash. Maybe it’s Light Wave. Who knows?

It was incredible meeting people from the TCU community, including everyone mentioned above and Cheesy. It really, truly was the best part of the whole trip.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the live show here, and a special thanks to the Patrons who make this show happen each and every week (aside from when we’re nearly dead). We’ve got a TON of guests scheduled for the rest of the summer, including something of a TCU favorite coming in 2 weeks…

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CREDITS:

Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor

Produced and Edited by Ben Webster → https://twitter.com/benwebsterTCU