Convention Highlights
Alyson Stoner kickstarted the morning with an interactive mental health exercise on the Festival Stage.
MrBeast, along with YouTube’s Director of Product Management, Todd Beaupré, gave audiences an inside look at the YouTube algorithm. Creators are eager to crack the code for YouTube’s recommendation engine. YouTube’s top earning U.S. creator, MrBeast, discussed how investing in short-form video is a tangible way to improve your content game right now. He added, “I’ve never seen anything that says that videos need to be longer. Just make videos that people want to watch” and then he gave away some MAJOR prizes.
MSNBC President Rashida Jones along with MSNBC hosts Mehdi Hasan and Symone D. Sanders, correspondent Jacob Soboroff and Host of “All in with Chris Hayes” Chris Hayes discussed why MSNBC is investing heavily in digital and streaming, bringing premium, perspective programming to the MSNBC hub on Peacock and adding core programming to the streaming platform.
In a panel presented by the It Gets Better project, Cristian Dennis, V Spehar (UnderTheDeskNews), Josh Helfgott, MacDoesIt, Miguel F Pena, and Stephanie Allen (Vice President of Partnerships at Laylo) analyzed how the digital media landscape is changing to include diverse voices and what still needs to be done to amplify them.
“We Got Game” brought top female gamers – Leah Ashe, Hannahxxrose, MeganPlays, AshleyTheUnicorn, and Katliente – together to challenge the stigma about women in the gaming space and inspire a young female audience to follow their passions in gaming, identity, and never giving up. Panelist Hannahxxrose said, “when I started streaming 5-6 years ago, my audience was mostly male and in the last 2 years, my audience has been more female now… I can’t believe that shift happened for a game that’s been out for 12 years already.”
Zaria Parvez, Global Social Media Manager at Duolingo, shared insights on how to be a trendsetter, why it’s important to listen to your audience, and urged those hiring in social media “to think about first generation and diverse kids when hiring and give them the space to create.”
Malik Ducard (Chief Content Officer at Pinterest) sat down with Patrick Starrr (CEO AND FOUNDER at One/Size) to chat about how the next generation looks to the future. Starrr said, “when we’re able to personify who we are, people will resonate with that more. This is what Gen Z really relates to.”
Hyram Yarbro (CEO at Skincare By Hyram), Gabe Gordon (Co-Founder at Reach Agency), and Jim Murray (Co-Founder & CEO at Feastables) spoke about the best ways to launch a consumer product line that sells. Hyram Yarbo, stated, “while having an already existing audience and demo, it’s not the end all solution. There is still a lot of strategizing and development. You want your products to make waves outside of your individual demographic.”
In “¡Mi Gente! Celebrating Latinx Creators,” Alejandra Tapia (@nanajoe19), AdamRayOkay, Jonny Morales, Claudipia, Diego Martir, and Louie Castro shared how they’re using platforms to celebrate and represent their culture as well as build communities.
Capital Music Group’s Ryan Ruden joined Tina Rubin of Wave and Lee Kebler of JOURNEY to celebrate “Music in the Metaverse,” and what that actually means for artists like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd, their fans and the future of virtual entertainment experiences.
“The New Faces of Hollywood” panel featuring Ray Powell, Brandon Nichols, Kathy Arendain, and Sarabeth Oppliger examined how creators are changing the movie industry at a rapid pace as they provide thought leadership and direction in movie promotions using platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram – highlighting examples of their work including Spiral (2021), Elvis (2022), and Scream (2022).
In the “Black Media Matters” panel, DangMattSmith, Tik.Tok.Tahj, JD Witherspoon, La’Ron, and Kat Blaque highlighted the importance of representation and how social media can break stereotypes, educate others, and open doors for Black creators. JD Witherspoon shared, “if you feel passionate about something and want to speak to it, feel empowered and validated to do that.”
At the “Modern Multi-Hyphenates” panel, Reece Feldman (guywithamoviecamera), Sierra Schultzzie, Laura Prepon, Stephen “tWitch” Boss (twitchtok7), and Allison Holker-Boss talked about the creator industry, being on social media, and being parents, with Sierra noting, “we don’t have to compete with each other and that’s one of the things that’s been so great about YouTube. It kind of takes away that competition in a way.”
Fans tested their TikTok knowledge with a trivia session hosted by Jack Innanen, Arianna Hailey, Diego Martir, Wasil Daoud, Makaela Ingemi (makingemi), and Sofia Gomez.
The “TikTok Dance Dance Evolution” panel with Ronyboyy, Merrick Hanna, Derek Hough, Anthony Fernandez, and Nia Sioux celebrated the opportunity social media brings creators, especially dancers. Nia Sioux shared, “[you] get to be the creator of your own content, you have power to create something different and go outside your comfort zone, you get to decide that on your own terms.”
At the “TikTok Originators” panel with Ronyboyym, Tracy Josephm, Ariana Taylor (@ari.arii), Alexzi Girma, and Keara Wilson (Queen Kekem) shared how TikTok can change the course of your life. Keara shared she was planning to join the military when she made the savage dance, which instantly altered her life after it went viral to where she’s now working with a ton of brands. Alexzi Girma, lead of the #BlackTikTok creator community program at TikTok further emphasized the importance of originators, discussing how they are rolling out new tools specifically for them.
At the LinkedIn Fireside, INSIDER reporter Amanda Perelli and Blake Barnes (VP of Consumer Products at LinkedIn) discussed how creators transformed LinkedIn beyond its familiar parameters as storytellers who establish credibility, authenticity, and inspiration to an audience of professionals. Blake Barnes said, “if you think about this sort of history of LinkedIn and evolution of it… they’d go on LinkedIn and fill out a profile… about a decade ago, we built our feed and started to have more conversations… the world is moving to where there are different forms of rich media.”
Twitch Partner Jenn McAllister and Shane Meyer, Partner Development Manager at Twitch hosted an in-depth conversation about how Twitch continues to gamify content, even the tradition of live, talk-show based formats.
Alan Chikin Chow, justmaiko, and EnkyBoys spoke about their experiences going from their own studios to Hollywood sets at the Phone Screen to Silver Screen panel.Alan Chikin Chow shared how they got their role on Home Economics due to their social media following.
Alex Wassabi, Nicole Enayati (Mythical Kitchen), Josh Scherer (Mythical Kitchen), Alejandra Tapia (@nanajoe19), Michelle Khare, and Therealtati hosted a live cook-off on the Festival Stage.
Founder and Executive Producer at SickBird Jade Watson and Scott Dunn, Head of Business Development and Talent Management at Doing Things Media, discussed how Gen Z creators are helping big brands monetize and go viral by presenting data-driven best practices on creating culturally relevant and viral content as well as guidance on the authentic monetization models for brands.
In “Using Platforms to Spark Social Change” featuring Aysha Harun, Bryce Xavier, Blair Imani, and Vira Slyvinska (Head of Global Business Development at AIR Media-Tech), invited audiences into a transformative conversation about amplifying the voices on the margins. Blair Imani stressed, “everytime I get paid I try to make sure someone else is getting paid at the same time. I try to look at my responsibility as a content creator, as also a job creator, it’s only lonely at the top if you’re not intentional about bringing people with you.
One of the nation’s leading BIPOC Influencer collectives, Collab Crib, took to the VidCon stage to interact with fans and discuss what it’s like to create as a team.
The Legends panel gathered YouTube pioneers Jon Cozart (PAINT), Nathan Zed, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Vy Qwaint, and Chad Wild Clay to reminisce on the beginnings of YouTube and their journeys as content creators, raising awareness on the importance of adapting through multiple modern platforms to maintain their following. Kurt Hugo Schneider shared, “I started TikTok in 2020 and I think it’s a really important part of what I make nowadays as a creator.”
VidCon presented the Night of Awesome in the Spotify Arena, featuring acts from dance and musical performances to trickshot routines, magic shows, and much much more from all your favorite creators including Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Allison Holker-Boss, Derek Hough, Nathaniel James (Basementgang), Kadeem (Basement Gang), Nick McDonald (Basement Gang), Andrea Russett, La’Ron, Duo the Owl, TheOdd1sOut – who showed an exclusive sneak peak at his new Netflix show, Ariana Taylor (@ari.arii) as well as Hope, Hasley, and Halle Pitman (aka The Pitman Sisters). The event was hosted by KallMeKris & CelinaSpookyBoo.
