Ticket Categories:
~Community
~Creator
~Industry
Cost: Community Ticket = AU $125.00
Duration: 08/09/2017 – 10/09/2017
Schedule: The Agenda
Community Events I’ve Attended:
Saturday 09/09/2017:
~Crafting a Community
Image Description: a large display screen with five circles featuring picture-icons, from left to right: Stephanie Patrick, Jake Bley, Matthew Patrick, Danielle Mansutti and Tyler Oakley
Image Description: from left to right, Matthew Patrick and Jake Bley sitting on a small black leather couch, a small white table, Stephanie Patrick sitting in a single arm-chair in the middle, another small white table, another small black leather couch with Tyler Oakley and Danielle Mansutti sitting on it.
What I Thought of the Event:
This panel was interesting and funny, however, having a group of people I’ve never heard from before giving me advice on how to build a community did feel a little weird, but I suppose it just highlighted how little I know about content creators on YouTube (definitely need to do some more research).
For example, Tyler Oakley is super popular and has been involved with YouTube for about ten years now. As a result, Jake Bley and Matthew Patrick could play six degrees of separation with Tyler Oakley.
So while I don’t have an interest in Gaming, Journal Style YouTube Channels or Make-up Tutorials, I did get some advice on building a community (“It’s a conversation, not a one way street.” and “if you’re selling product, make it the best you can be, if you wouldn’t buy it, don’t sell it”).
It didn’t feel like it was anything more than the generic advice I’d already heard. While Jake Bley and Danielle Mansutti were the only two Australians on the panel, it was good to see these two Australian YouTubers up there on equal footing with successful American YouTubers.
As a whole, I enjoyed the panel, and the panellists were all entertaining, however, I didn’t really connect with the panellists. Although considering that nearly all the panellists have millions of subscribers, clearly they connect to other people (just not me) and I doubt they’re concerned.
~Hank, Grace & Mamrie Power Hour
Image Description: a large display screen with the following text displayed: “What’s Next: 2:30 PM – Hank, Grace, and Mamrie Power Hour”. Beneath the text are three circles with pictures of (in order) Hank Green, Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart.
Image Description: from left to right, Mamrie Hart sitting on a small black leather arm-chair, Hank Green sitting on a small black leather arm-chair (with his arm across his forehead to shield his eyes), and Grace Helbig sitting on a small black leather arm-chair.
What I Thought of the Event:
This event was super popular and I really enjoyed it. Hank, Mamrie, and Grace sat around and talked about their lives and answered questions and when Hank felt the crowd was getting too rowdy, he would unite us with the nationalistic chant of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie (Oi, Oi, Oi)”. Grace felt it got a little militaristic towards the end and, I must admit, she may have had a valid point there.
Hank seemed very confused at this, he was also confused by the fact that we all managed to stand up and sing the short version of our national anthem (seriously, that happened, not entirely sure why). But then again, this is the same guy who created songs such as I Fucking Love Science and Accio Deathly Hallows, so Hank really shouldn’t be that surprised that he has the capacity to inspire the audience to sing and chant upon request.
Grace and Mamrie were super funny together, I saw panels where they were separated and while they were good on their own, I felt that they were better together. I think the best kind of comedy is bouncing off people or people working as a team. To be honest, I haven’t seen lot of My Drunk Kitchen, which is something I aim to rectify.
Image Description: a large display screen with the following text displayed: “Laugh It Up” with five pictures in circles with names displayed beneath the corresponding picture. From left to right: Caris Bizzaca, Neel Kolhatkar, Tanya Hennessy, Ian Hecock, Grace Helbig.
What I Thought of the Event:
It was interesting to hear Tanya and Neel speak about how it was difficult to switch off, that nearly all social interactions were greeted with the intrusive thought of “I can use this for content”.
It was a little depressing that both Tanya and Neel have to be involved in multiple projects (for example Tanya has a show on Radio, she also does a separate podcast, and then does stuff on Facebook) in order to support themselves.
I did find it interesting how Neel used a local pub as his feedback station/sounding board for which jokes worked or didn’t, regardless of the medium he used. On the other hand, Grace (while being very popular) said she had begun to feel less funny over time due to creative burn-out.
Unfortunately, Grace’s situation is becoming all too common in the creative arts community. It was a diverse group of people and they all brought something different to the table. Overall, while I wasn’t familiar with most of the panellist’s work, I enjoyed myself and took away some valuable advice.
Sunday 10/09/2017:
~Nerding Out
Image Description: a large display screen displaying text reading “Nerding Out”, below the text is five circles featuring picture-icons with names, from left to right: Pamela Horton, Lee Naimo, Jayden Rodrigues, Stephanie Hames (SasEffects), and Louna Maroun.
Image Description: five people sitting down in orange chairs in from a plain black table, from left to right: Pamela Horton, Stephanie Hames (SasEffects), Louna Maroun (wearing black cat-ears), Lee Naimo, and Jayden Rodrigues (cosplaying as Son Goku from Dragonball Z).
What I Thought of the Event:
Unfortunately this was another panel where I didn’t know a lot about the panellists attending, however, I would like to point out that the room was mostly filled, so clearly I’m in the minority here. The panel had a strong focus on gaming and conventions (Jayden Rodrigues is very passionate about cosplay) and while I don’t have a strong interest in Gaming, this panel was entertaining and engaging.
As I’m a big fan of the Axis of Awesome, it was great to hear about Lee and Jordan’s new project Insert Coin, it sounds like Lee and Jordan are having a blast working on it, I had to struggle to contain my urge to yell out “Read A Book!” when Lee mentioned Axis of Awesome’s song Rage of Thrones.
Just as all of the panellists were united in their mutual interest of Gaming, there was some division of experience between Pamela, Stephanie, and Louna in comparison to Lee and Jayden. Pamela, Stephanie, and Louna often felt as though they constantly had to prove their “Nerd Credentials” and Expert Status in a way that their male colleagues never have to.
For example, Pamela was often interviewed (or interrogated) by gaming magazines, who asked questions about obscure video games. Pamela, as a well-informed expert in her field, could answer the questions, but it was obvious that she shouldn’t have had to answer them in the first place.
Stephanie, a special effects make-up artist specialising in Horror, was often questioned on the basis that as a girl it was “unusual” for her to like horror at all, and was often asked what her favourite horror movie was. The problem with questions like “what’s your favourite horror movie?” is that there aren’t any right answers, so Stephanie felt she was always being set up to fail regardless of what movie she said she enjoyed.
I think it’s also important to point out that Lee and Jayden, while confessing that they didn’t have similar experiences, never dismissed the other ladies on the panel and they were quick to offer their support and sympathies for such unacceptable behaviour.
Image Description: a large display screen with five circles featuring picture-icons, from left to right: Jessica Holdman (Study With Jess), Hank Green, Armando Hasudungan, Dagogo Altraide (Cold Fusion), and Kati Morton.
Image Description: five people sitting in orange seats at a plain black table, from left to right: Jessica Holdman (Study With Jess), Kati Morton, Dagogo Altraide (Cold Fusion), Armando Hasudungan, and Hank Green.
What I Thought of the Event:
One of the few panels were I actually knew who the panellists were, as a result, I really enjoyed this panel, it was entertaining, and I found it helpful with regards to helping me construct my next big project (although it still has a long way to go). The great thing about this panel was hearing about how all the panellists were passionate about their subject of choice, and how they originally created their channels.
Kati Morton created her channel because there was a gap between Mental Health services that were provided at institutionalised clinics (like a rehab centre or an eating disorder clinic) and services available to the public outside the confines of these clinics.
Kati created her videos to act a free resource for those who may not be able to afford access to Mental Health services in the USA, and she created videos specifically for parents so that they could have a better understanding of the struggles that people with mental illness face.
Jessica Holdman and Armando Hasudungan are similar in that both created their channels as a way of helping themselves to study and to remember important information regarding their area of expertise, however, these videos also ended up helping other people as well.
Hank Green and Dagogo Altraide are similar in that they both possess an interest in a subject (Dagogo is interested in learning about new technology, while Hank is more orientated towards learning about science-based subjects), they have the desire to research it and then share it with the rest of us.
In all cases, there was a subject of interest, there was a gap in the access to knowledge on said interest, and these people figured out how to fill that gap. It’s super impressive.
Hank was also quick to point out that a big part of why projects like Crash Course has been so successful was because YouTube gave them the money and the opportunity to help them embark on this particular project. Unfortunately, money is one of many big factors that can stand in way of a creator making good content.
Image Description: a large display screen displaying text reading “Out Online”, below the text is five circles featuring picture-icons with names, from left to right: Rohan Salmond, Patrick Starrr, Damian Parker, Jake Bley, and AJ Clementine.
Image Description: from left to right: Jake Bley and Patrick Starrr sitting on a small black couch, Rohan Salmond are sitting in a small black arm-chair in the middle, and AJ Clementine and Damian Parker sitting on a small black couch on the right.
What I Thought of the Event:
Yet another panel where I have no idea who the people are, with the exception of AJ Clementine because I researched them in connection to the Mental Health panel, however, I’m glad I attended. Patrick Starrr gave excellent advice for people wanting to be media creators, “Everybody says just be yourself, and that’s great but, you also need to make some friends, make some connections.”.
Even though I don’t have an interest in YouTube Channels that focuses on make-up (like Patrick’s does), I enjoyed his advice (“Be gentle, Be kind, Make friends”), I also admired how confident he was, and how he encouraged the audience to work with their strengths when it came to content creating (“are you a writer or a talker? I’m a talker.”).
Unlike with other panels, most of the panellists were Australian, and it was great to see Australian representation. A result of this was that a large portion of the session was dedicated to talking about the Marriage Equality debate in Australia and how to handle it with family members.
Jake was also passionate about how the LGBTQIA+ community needs to come together to support themselves and to protect themselves from outside forces. That we all need to be paying attention and become more active with regards to civil rights movement and civil rights protest-marches (if possible). Jake Bley was very passionate about the civil rights movement and civil rights protests, he encouraged audience members to go out and vote and to get involved.
I liked how AJ Clementine encouraged people to take their time to get to know themselves and that the only one had the right to label you, was you. In fact, AJ was very much against labels, unless they were helpful for your journey and growth.
~Let’s Talk About Mental Health
Image Description: a large display screen displaying text reading “Let’s Talk About Mental Health”, below the text is five circles featuring picture-icons with names, from left to right: Kati Morton, Nathan Zed, Jessica Holdman (Study With Jess), AJ Clementine, Dodie, and Annika Victoria
Image Description: From left to right: Annika Victoria and Jessica Holdman (Study With Jess) sitting on a small black couch, Kati Morton and Dodie sitting on a small black couch in the middle, and AJ Clementine and Nathan Zed sitting on a small black couch on the right.
What I Thought of the Event:
This was the event I have been looking forward to for months. I know it will sound strange but I was nervous, anxious and excited all at once. I mean, it was a huge room and I was a distance from the stage, but it was thrilling to see Kati Morton, a person I had only watched within the safe confines of my living room, talk about Mental Health issues with other people.
I know it will sound silly, but the undeniable proof that Kati is a real person and had come all the way to Australia talk about this super important topic, it was a little overwhelming. Which is why I found it difficult to take notes, and thus remember what happened in detail, but I’ll give it a go.
Nathan Zed, being a person of colour and a man, spoke of how he felt the stigma and pressure not to talk about Mental Health problems and how he did want to be seen as a racial ambassador for mental health or that mental health was the only thing he was able to talk about. But once Nathan did start talking about his mental illness struggles with his family, it gave his father permission to speak of his struggles too.
Dodie talked about her struggles with derealisation and depersonalisation, depression, and anxiety. Something that makes Dodie feel better or bring herself back to her body is comforting physical contact, which is why Kati was occasionally patting Dodie on the back throughout the panel.
Dodie spoke about her busy schedule and how going on tour and to so many public events like VidCon within the year had taken a big toll on her mental health. Self-care was super important as well as being able to recognise when she was falling back into her depressive cycles and her bad habit of over-sharing.
Annika Victoria, a vlogger with a primary focus on sewing and DIY sewing projects, spoke about her chronic illness and the consequential mental health issues that arose from her chronic illness. Originally, Annika didn’t want to talk about her chronic illness and mental illness problems, she avoided talking about them on her YouTube channel.
Eventually, it got to a point where it was no longer possible to pretend the situation wasn’t occurring. Annika spoke of how important it was to take care of one’s mental health, alongside one’s physical health, and that talking to a therapist was not just a good idea but essential. Annika also spoke of the difficulties that people had with displaying empathy with regards to mental health and invisible disabilities.
AJ Clementine and Jessica Holdman spoke of their issues regarding anxiety, but, in all honesty, I can’t remember much. AJ spoke about how they felt mental illness wasn’t taken seriously enough and how people struggled to display empathy and accept the situation.
I vaguely remember that Jessica hesitantly spoke of her issues with anxiety (at first) and used her videos of a way of explaining the problem to her friends and family without having to discuss the situation face-to-face. Jessica also spoke of how common mental illness was. Jessica made the videos she wished had been available for her to watch when she was a student.
~Sisters Doin’ It for Themselves
Image Description: a large display screen displaying text reading “Sister’s Doin’ It For Themselves”, below the text is five circles featuring picture-icons with names, from left to right: Erin May Henry, Kiana Jones (FreakMo), Damielou Shavelle, Danielle Mansutti, and Mamrie Hart.
Image Description: five people sitting in orange chairs at a plain black table, from left to right: Erin May Henry, Damielou Shavelle, Kiana Jones (she is holding up a fake hand to display to the audience), Mamrie Hart, and Danielle Mansutti.
What I Thought of the Event:
This was the last panel of VidCon, so the panel members were distracted and tired (which was understandable), and it resulted in awkward pauses and short answers to questions. Mamrie Hart, as a more experienced panellist, took the lead on most of the questions and set the tone for the panel.
Mamrie Hart’s experience was that YouTube was a platform that allowed women to be on equal footing and she believed that she wasn’t treated worse because she was a woman online. Although Mamrie did acknowledge the presence of trolls and gross commentators, however, she did not dwell or expand on this.
Mamrie truly felt that women may even have the advantage with regards to platforms such as YouTube. This felt rather contrary to what the Ladies on the “Nerding Out” panel had discussed, who felt they often had to prove themselves as “Real Nerds” to other men in order to be taken seriously.
The idea that gender might not be a big of a factor as I first thought sounded too good to be true. Just because sexism on YouTube (or harassment in general) doesn’t occur on one particular channel or a specific online community, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen at all.
Kiana Jones did speak of how within the industry, the special-effects make-up artists were mostly female, but the managers were mostly male or that men owned a lot of the special-effects companies. There were occasional moments where female make-up artists were hired for dubious reasons, such as objectification purposes, rather than for their artistry skills.
Danielle Mansutti handled audience questions really well and, with Mamrie’s assistance, advised an audience member on how to not feel jealous or envious of other people’s success and how you should use those moments to inspire yourself to create better content.
Danielle also recommended making the best videos you can make but also acknowledged that the videos she was most passionate about (like her compilation video A Day With You) wouldn’t necessarily be popular with her audience.
All the ladies on the panel encouraged audience members to embrace their creativity, they encouraged the “Do it Today, Not Tomorrow” attitude, the only problem with this is that the “Just Do It” method is what I have been doing my entire life and it hasn’t been that successful thus far. If anything, VidCon had proven to me that I have a lot more research to do and a lot more planning to put in place.
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