With the three 'cons' there is a different purpose for each... for a conference, you want discussion. It's a place for people with same (or different) interests talking about different topics. And Vidcon does that really well, I think Hank really thought about conference part and doesn't shy away from the topics that might be uncomfortable, and really tries focus on topic that needed to be discussion, rather than topics which are... quirky, you know, 10 things... these types of lists that buzzfeed have. So, that's nice.
For the convention part, however, vidcon is lacking in some respects, because obviously everything is on the internet and you don't really need a physical place to discover new people, but I think Vidcon was designed because it was getting hard to find new people on the internet, so we need more than just YouTube to find people that is new and interesting. And I think when Hank Green talks about there being so much YouTubers, he's talking about that convention piece of Vidcon and how hard it is so create that experience of finding new stuff on the internet in real life...
And there's the concert, which is just a place for people to entertain! You know the place to meet your favorite stars! And that's why most people come to vidcon... which is to meet Jack&Finn or Lol Anothony or what new hot white teenage boy that comes in the scene... and that is kind of the crux of the matter. That we have these screaming fans at the 'conference' or the 'convention' of YouTube and New Media. And we're suppose to have fans... but they should interacting or discussing important matters and not screaming or consenting to dubious people... because what you should supposed to do in vidcon is that... you are meeting your stars, of course, that's the concert part, but then you're supposed to find new stars and people with interest as you, which is the convention, and talk to these stars and fans about important matters, which is the conference part. And having those three parts together will create energy or this zeitgeist that could impact our world in significant ways... and that's little broad but that's what here for...
So, the problem is that the concert is overshadowing the two other parts... so, people are finding these stars but they are not finding other stars or talking about important matters with these stars... and with each other. And there's many way you could go about this... you can focus on the fans and try to wrangle these fans to enjoy new talents or starting talking about stuff with other people... or you can focus on the stars, and you know, YouTube community was formed because all these people had a same interest and were talking about it... and in a sense that creates a community... that shared sense of dialogue does Nash Grier have that? No... does Jacoskians have that... probably not... I mean some people are definitely invovled with it, like Jack and Finn or Tyler Oakley... but you know the Harries twins has history of media in their lineage and Tyler Oakley was here since 2006 and I knew him since 2009... so I mean there's a reason to this exception, and so it doesn't really count... what I mean is these new star and stars that are fading away like Shane Dawson or Mediocre Films... which I both liked, but now I disagree... I mean whole situation is not favorable right now...
It's the funniest thing, you know, that Hank and the crew are starting to figure out what's happening in Vidcon and how to manage this phenomena just in time to see being harder and harder to reach the mission that have finally formalized.... it's really the regression of the mass... the fact that with so many people, you start tend towards the mean and it gets more basic and basic as the fanbase grows. It's the same with politics and business and all types of organization that whole thing start to fall apart and it becomes same grey monster that we secretly fear inside...
We need a mechanism to combat the effect. We need a system that tells us that you shouldn't be stalking because the star is your equal and not your target... and that you shouldn't looking up but across... finding a friend and do a thing... and there's so much projects out there that rely on this... that power of the mass but like a car, you need to harness the explosion, or it's going to explode and all that energy is wasted. But as in thermodynamic, is hard to harness work into something useful. Something like kickstarter or petitions and other stuff... it's just wasted unless we do something.
I think of Victor Gruen when I talk about this... this man created the modern mall, so to speak, as a place for a community to reside... kind of like a market. He was trying create a hole that was left by the suburbs and how the suburbs have no place for discussion and building of community and he wanted to create... a church for capitalism, that place of worship but also of community... that people with the same aspect can have a place for a discussion. But a church becomes a temple... that place of indoctrination and we has this term called the 'Guren Transfer' which is where you enter a place and you feel overwhelmed and so you buy whatever is in your sight... And... yeah... it's just... if you want to meet a friend, where do you go... and the answer is slowly shrinking... the suburbs are very isolating... therefore, the internet is probably only place you could go to meet friends. And Vidcon is the crystallization of that nostalgia of meeting your friend in a place that is meant to meet someone. You know psychological that is... that post vidcon depression... and some say to grow up, but that's the crystallization of fallout of the modern society... we're yearning for that golden age... of physical interaction! Instead we have mindless waves of people with a primal scream... it's sad.
