VidCon 2010

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  • VidCon 2010
  • Los Angeles
  • July 9, 10
  • No wifi, no t-mobile reception

Contents

General observations

Audience, attendees

  • Some jeans + sport coat biz dudes
  • Lots and LOTS of young people!!
    • Some middle/high with parents
    • Many groups of 2 or three friends sitting together
  • Conference seems to be run by mostly young folks (~20 y.o. women, vaguely indie-ish style)
  • Several recognizable YouTube celebs in the seats around me
  • Vaguely summer camp vibes
    • My first conf?
    • Is it a conv or conf? Similar ambiguity as ROFLcon
    • Is it the presence of YouTube/Google and other biz entities that cause the confusion?
  • Vlogbrothers reference "nerd culture" a lot, less discussion of "geek" distinction
    • Vlogbros are definitely "nerds" in a Hollywood sense and not "geeks" in a fannish sense
    • But there is also fan lingo like "squee" getting thrown around
    • Interesting to see so much familiar made slightly weird
  • From page 16 of the program:
    • "Some of us are agents; some of us are executives at media companies; some of us are fans of online video; some of us are nerdfighters; some of us make videos. There has to be room at VidCon for all of us."

Main room

  • Huge and mostly full
  • Chandeliers
  • Very pro A/V, 3 projectors, big big sound system, security

Swag bag

  • VidCon program, a softbound lil book
  • Wristbands to two "concerts" on Fri + Sat night
  • VidCon t shirt
  • Vidcon poster
  • Mix CD from dftba records
  • Subscriber card from Videomaker magazine
  • 2 Nature's Valley bars
  • Spreadshirt flyer
    • "Current YouTube celebs will tell you that Spreadshirt is the perfect place to start merchanidising your video fame."
  • District Lines
    • "The official online merchandise store for all your favorite youtubers"
  • Stickers:
    • Dan 3.0
    • YouTube
  • Sample Orabrush (tongue scrubbing device?) + card advertising a video making competition with iPhone 4 prize

Proceedings

The Future of YouTube

Announcing in-browser editing tools

  • Other tech that is "device independent"

Surprising number of people "woo!"-ing

  • Most have a Channel
  • Many are Partners
  • "You are next generation ... media moguls ... producers ..."
  • Some discussion of the amount of money that partners are making on YT
  • $5 mil "Partner grants"
    • Seeking people who have "promise"
    • "Investing in uploaders, creators"

Auto-tune the news

  • Somone shouts "You Rock!"
  • From TX, now living in NY
  • Fun, geeky humor
    • About civics, math
  • "We live as a band"
  • "Does everyone know what autotune is?" many people yell "yes!"
    • "Exciting but dangerous technology"
    • "Evil... can decieve you... thinking mediocre singers are good singers... but we've found a good use for it"
  • Describe process using pop analogies
    • "They are 3oh3 and we are Ke$ha..."
    • Talk about editing news people to sing "with" them
  • They present a "live" performance
    • "Unplugged", with yukele
    • Crediting various figures as "co-writers"
    • "Turned [the news events] into a song to sing together"
    • Referring to Mariah, Ke$ha, etc.
    • Surprisingly well executed 4 part harmony
    • The live performance is another layer of weird
    • Because there is no autotune nor news nor video
  • Lots of weird tech issues with mics going on and off
    • Played off with a joke about Keyboard Cat
  • When vlog bros return they say, "nice to see that they don't need to be autotuned"

Good videos on the cheap, Eric Franks

  • Sparsely attended, 20-30 ppl
  • http://www.videopia.org
  • No powerpoint for reasons unknown, no projector?
  • "99% of all YouTube videos are crap"
    • "Well, as Gene Roddenberry said, 99% of everything is crap so that's alright"
  • Explicit goal: making videos popular
    • "If you have good content, this will make your content that much better"
  • Takeaway - this isn't THAT cheap
    • 80$ tripod, 100-300$ mic, 200$ lights
  • Final advice, "the camera that is with you is the best camera in the world"
    • Upgrade lights, audio, tripod, etc FIRST

Lighting

  • Suggesting people look at film noir to reverse-engineer the lighting
  • He suggests that people buy nothing
    • But you could buy clip lights at Home Depot
    • "Any lights are better than no light"
    • You can plug a "bunch of CF bulbs in the same socket", no heat, "20 or 30"
  • "We are not going for perfect, we're going for better, one step better than everyone else on YouTube"
  • Soft v hard light
    • Oven paper over clip lights
  • Using reflectors

Stabilization

  • Avoiding hand held
  • Using basic tripod

Audio

  • Proximity
  • Why is the audio better on a lav vs. a built-in?
    • How do you get the mic closer to the talent?
  • If it's in-camera, you must get closer to the audio source
    • "Artists work with limitations all the time"
  • Getting very specific about specific products
    • Not free, though!

Editing, Rendering, Encoding

  • Recommends h.264 as high bitrate as possible (10mb/s)
  • "Until you get up to YouTube's ceiling"
    • There is a video where a person makes a 10s vid and continually transcodes to show generation loss
  • Editing at camera resolution
    • Re: processing load, "suck it up and deal with it"
  • Never "transcode" if possible
    • Every generation you lose a little bit

Josh Sundquist

  • "Job as motivational speaker, hobby-slash-addiction to making YouTube videos"
    • Also USA paralympian skiier
  • Cancer in left leg, chemo didn't work, amputated leg to save his life
    • Many jokes about life with one leg
  • Makes reference to dramatic chipmunk and sneezing panda
  • Dream as a kid to be in broadcast TV
    • Few people with disabilities in that profession
  • Recounts his last memory of walking with two legs
  • YouTube is the only place in his life that people don't notice his disability first
    • "YouTube is the only place I've been that I am not disabled"
    • YouTube is a place where "a person with a disability can be a broadcaster"

Julia Nunes

  • Ukelele
  • "Most successful YouTube musician"
    • Opening for Ben Folds, playing festivals
  • "I play songs. Some that I wrote and some that I cover. And I overlay harmonies and make funny faces."
  • Now I am watching someone beatboxing and playing uke

Jim Louderback, Revision3

  • Former ed in chief of PC Mag
  • How many times have I seen Rev3 presentations?
  • "Future of Televison"
  • Starts with Moore's Law, "responsible for everything we're doing"
    • Explaining exponential v linear functions
    • Doubling dime v linear dollar, etc.
    • Giving out dollars to the crowd, throwing dimes into the audience
    • Point: ???
    • "Soon: incredibly powerful computing will be free..."
  • In five years, "Fred 2.0 will make Shrek 5 in his basement"
  • With cheap storage, you can store everything forever
    • "Never lose keys... back up your lifestream"
  • Applying Moore's Law to Broadband, storage, processor, pixel resolution
  • "Streaming full HD from anywhere for free from everywhere"
    • Google maps + streaming = Video map
  • "End of AT&T - Yes!"
  • ARG, wearable, ubi comp
    • "Contact lense - TV of the future"
  • Pure enthusiasm, "This is the future and you are going to create it"

Philip DeFranco, sxephil

  • Interview with John Green of vlogbros
  • John Green: "First thing I ever watched on YouTube ... Remember back in the day when there was just LonelyGirl15 and ... sxephil!"
  • People freaking out, screaming things
  • Phil is in his "mid-20s now"
  • Phil throws out some tshirts, "If you get a shirt, you MUST subscribe"
    • Someone near me doesn't get one and shouts, "Unsubscribe!"
  • "So this is what it feels like to be Shane Dawson"
  • Other vloggers Charles Trippi, Ally? "Ancient"
  • "Doing this professionally..."
  • "Feels more real..." people recognize him out in the world
  • "DeFranco nation ... common sense nation"
  • JG: "We're both so old for this conference. We've both been making videos for a long time..."
  • PD: Tough balancing biz with fun, "try to not become the robot that it pushes you to"
  • JG: Creativity v. productivity
  • PD: "YouTubers burn out all the time... I've burned out many times"
    • PD: Fear of disappearing if they stop getting views
  • JG: "Old media companies always ask you where you'll be in 5 years because they think it will scare you"
  • PD: Focusing on finding and promoting new YouTubers
  • PD: Was working at Outback. Parents kicked him out initially because he dropped out of college, waited tables, and waited tables.
  • PD: Refers to distinction between his "show" and his "vlog"
    • The former has jumpcuts
  • JG: "You've launched so many careers... what are you watching now?"
    • Julian Smith, yields applause
    • Freddie W,
    • Mystery Guitar Man, applause
  • Every mention of Shane Dawson draws screams from the audience
  • PD: "Hard to complain to people when your job is to talk to the camera from your house"
    • JG: "Important to be cognizant of that... you know your community and you know what their lives are like... that really comes through in your show"
    • PD: "I don't know ... everyone has a different story ... I didn't know that the troops watched me when they're overseas! I'm like 'thank you! i would never do that!'"

Michael Buckley

  • Started in 2005 doing 1 hr/week live on a public access TV station
  • Helped out by other YouTubers linking to him
    • "A gay guy saying Miley Cyrus sucks ... who gives a crap"
  • 2 years working full time at Live Nation while doing YouTube for "50 hours a week"
    • "I should have been fired"
  • Wants to learn more tech skills:
    • "Been on the site for 3 years but I still don't know how to edit"
    • Does one-take videos, "I rarely make mistakes"
  • "Writing 6-8 hours a day"
  • "Shout out to annotations ... the best YouTube invention ever"
  • "My gay is fluctuating over the years"
  • "First hit video in 2006 ... 200,000 views"
    • "Adrenaline"
    • Covering Am Idol in 2007
    • Account got suspended for copyright takedown (So You Think You Can Dance) and he rallied support
    • "Crying, hat on, devastated", "how are these 8000 people [subscribers] going to find me again?"
    • Fans rallied, called Dick Clark Productions to complain
      • This is when he knew it was a "big deal"
  • HG: "How do you picture your audience in your head?"
    • MB: 80% female, 13-17 y.o. using analytics
    • MB: editing, "so much thinought into each video"
    • MB: treating each one as a "first impression", hard to do an inside joke
  • One of his catchphrases: "I had to have it" from a Sarah Jessica Parker commercial

Dave Days

  • JG: "#1 musician on YouTube ... only one to touch Miley Cyrus ... with her permission"
  • Began with parody, moved to other "more serious music ... with other producers"
  • Initial videos were parodies of other YouTubers
  • "I'm used to making things in my room ... now ... learning about the music industry"
  • "It'll always be on YouTube ... I'll never go do something separately"
  • DD is 18 y.o., grew up in PA
    • Unimpressed with "big record labels"
    • "Record label wants you and your fanbase"
    • Moved to LA to focus on YouTube and his music
      • "Lots of YouTubers live out here"
  • "Feels like we're all in it together", re: comments, other users
  • After he leaves the stage, someone yells, "He's hot!"

Using YouTube for Good, Shawn Ahmed, Uncultured

  • "How many nerdfighters are here?", very loud response
  • "We are not made of flesh and bone but we are made of pure awesome"
  • "Unprecedented force for good"
  • Uncultured project, "less than 1% of the subscribers, views"
    • "What we as a generation can do to end global poverty"
    • "Going to countries like Bangladesh ..."
    • "Talking about the poor in a respectful manner"
    • "Not about guilt-trips"
  • "I did not come to vidcon to ask for your money"
    • "I came to ask for your support on YouTube"
    • How to help: "Subscribing, watching the videos, rating the videos, sharing the videos"
  • Showing a video, "1000 days in the making"
    • Documenting the process of a rebuilding a school after Cyclone Sidr
    • Young boy explains the effects of the cyclone on his school
    • Nerdfighters organize donations to help Save the Children rebuild the school
    • Audience cheers
    • "Funded by Nerdfighters"
    • Audience gives Ahmed a standing ovation

Jonny Paula and Jory Caron

  • "Is it a good idea to microwave this"
  • "We've been doing this professionally for 3 years on YouTube"
  • Sketch comedy?
  • They fake-ask the audience for a number suggestion, "did i hear 69?"
    • But audience starts yelling for "42"
  • Microwave two bulbs

Nerdfighter Meetup

  • Packed into the biggest breakout room
  • Great positive energy
  • Mostly teens, some parents
  • "We wanted to say thanks not for watching our videos but for being part of the videos"
    • "'Nerdfighteria' was your idea. The word 'Nerdfighter' was your idea."
  • "Difference between the really popular YouTubers and everyone else is having an audience"
    • Sometimes reinforcing an audience/creator distinction
    • Other times asserting a blurring of the two
  • Q&A, lots of HP questions
    • Many referencing specific, recurring bits from the videos
  • At the end of Q&A, all the Nerdfighters squish to the middle for a hug

Q & A

  • Q: What's your patronus (HP reference)?
    • HG: Corn dog.
    • JG: Mean jaguar.
  • In 2007, they made a video every weekday
  • Q: Fishing boat proceeds this year?
  • Q: Is it true that when Hank told you (J) about VidCon you thought it was a bad idea?
    • JG: Hank calls me with an idea every single day so my default position is that it is a bad idea.
  • Q: How did you feel about 'Hallows' (HP question)?
    • H: Fleshtones on the dragon
    • J: Subtly injured Vold
  • Recurring questions about John singing and a vow he made not to sing
  • Help Haiti Heal
    • Nerdfighters collabo w HPA
    • J + H promised certain presents
    • Including a story that J needs to write according to a donor's outline
  • Q: Infinitus, Harry Potter Park?
    • A: No plans yet except to go to an HP con at 2011?
  • Q: Will J's wife ("yeti") appear at the event?
    • J: Yeti is here. She is freaked out at the "level of fascination" about her
  • Q: Is Willy (dog) here?
    • A: Nope...
  • Q: Idea for 'Paper Towns'?
    • J: "This is very nerdy but I'm into really into fictional geographies..."
  • Q: Ever caught signing one of your books in a bookstore?
  • Q: If you have to conjure a patronus, what are you thinking about?
  • Q: What is the coolest thing that Nerdfighteria has ever done?
    • J: Pond sand filters in Bangladesh, flying support to Haiti
    • H+J: People sending them fanthings on the Tumblr, Twitter
    • H: "Slash fiction about us" -- gets big reaction from the audience
  • J performs "Helena, Montana"
    • H recalls meeting a Nerdfighter who used it as a ringtone "for all [his] nerdfighter friends"
  • Q: H what is your favorite episode of Cowboy Bebop?
  • Q: H what's your next song going to be about?
    • H: About being a nerd ... called "I'm a geek" (geek/nerd)
  • Q: Who the F is Hank?
    • J: "Hank is a mass of incandescent gas"
  • Q: How many hours do you sleep at night?
  • Q: What's your favorite song?
    • H: 'Angler Fish'
    • J: 'This isn't Hogwarts' - reminds him of listening to Mr. T Experience. "Pure pop punk joy that makes you want to jump up and down"
  • Q: Who is your first pick for your Quiddich team?
    • H: NED soccer team
    • J: Gelnda the Good Witch
  • Q: Oddest place you've been recognized?
    • H, J: Here
    • J: "When nerdfighters come up to me they are always really respectful"
    • J: Tells a story about nerdfighters meeting at BU college orientation
    • H: Tells story about ordering food at a deli and the guy working there knew his name
  • Q: More on best nerdfighteria ever?
    • J: Project for Awesome, bigger and better
    • H: Maybe VidCon is the coolest thing that Nerdfighteria has ever done
    • H: Talking about planning a conference that has both a fan community and biz people
    • H: "Unusual and really fun ... would not be possible without Nerdfighters"

Rhett and Link

  • Writing a song collaboratively with the audience
  • Audience responding really strongly to them

Is Charlie So Cool Like?, Charlie McDonnell

  • "#1 UK online video producer"
  • "Doesn't anyone know who I am?"
  • Answering questions that people asked in comments / vid responses

Q&A

  • Q: Do nasty comments bother you?
    • A: Esp when he was 16 y.o. They get to him "naught point naught nahnahnah per cent"
  • Q: Best/worst part of being famous on YouTube?
    • A: "Worst is being called 'famous'", doesn't feel famous
    • A: Best: Positive parts of celebrity without the negative parts
  • Q: Will the Charlie channel end?
    • A: Not until I die.
  • Q: What does 'cool' mean?
    • A: Tells story about going to movies alone, tweeting about it, and someone saying that it's cool
    • A: "Being cool is doing whatever nerdy dorky thing I like"
  • Q: If you had to choose between meeting "the doctor, the doctor" (Who) or get a girlfriend?
    • A: Tough call
  • Q: Top 3 YouTubers?
    • A: Wheezywaiter
    • A: Gregory Row (?)
    • A: Hank, John, Ze Frank
  • Q: Diff between on-vid Charlie and IRL Charlie?
  • Q: What do you want to do after YouTube ... you know in REAL life?"
    • A: "This is real life, people."
  • Q: Will you take your pants off?
    • A: People scream, music plays, and he takes one pair of skinny jeans off awkwardly to reveal skinnier jeans!
  • Q: // various questions about his hair //
  • Q: Andrew, Sarah, Kelly from HPA: "Can YouTubers change the world?"
    • A: "I think we already are. Our brains are changing. We're being re-wired to prefer online video." refers to success of Shawn and Uncultured project.
  • Q: Would you ever move to the US?
    • A: "I like England too much"

Relationships with the virtual, Ze Frank

  • Hank credits ZF with creating "the way that we video blog", "we steal from him constantly"
  • "Confidential talk" and they are turning off the live stream
  • I don't get how Ze has all this cash to fly around?
  • Z is using head mic
  • Referring to a sign on street corners in Amsterdam
  • Diff between "what we do here" and "traditional media" is "connecting with an audience"
    • Desire to connect with people but the day-to-day is "staring into a lens"
  • 2001, how to dance "goes viral"
    • First connection with "the network", "everything is so big", "there's a lot of people here"
    • "It's a really weird moment"
  • First response: Attempting to replicate that moment by immitating himself
  • Second: creating fun web apps, games, responding to people's email
  • Third: made challenges for people
    • Haiku writing, photo submitting, "making sandwich out of earth", "now me"
  • Trying to "understand the network"
    • Trying to "find the rules"
    • Gaming the network, popularity
      • Unsatisfying alone, but sees mobile as connection to "extra shell of a virtual life"
  • "Connecting with people isn't easy" (on- and off-line)
    • People who are bad at connecting offline build online spaces
    • Interfaces sometimes represent that, e.g. the Like button
    • "Authenticity is hard work", authentic connecting w other people

Examples of things that work

Ray

  • Ray's song, "i'm about to whip somebody's ass"
    • Remix sharing, etc.
    • Esp. "goose"
    • The Ray remixes
    • Who is Ray? Whip somebody's ass, The fabuloso remixes
    • But they still didn't know who he was
  • Turns out Ray is a minister

Pain pack

  • Opened up a voicemail line for people leave messages about their pain
  • Site automatically converted the songs into mp3s
  • Release collection of tiny samples as a "pain pack" that people could use to make songs

From 52 to 48 with love

  • Reconciliation among all sides of the election
  • Sweet, cute photos that people sent in
  • Some extreme sites sent him aggressive pics, death threats
  • ZF getting depressed about this so he made up ...

Angrigami

Songs about everyday experiences

  • Chillout, zefrank CD

Facebook-me

  • Song for when you feel overwhelmed by request

YouTube Partners program, Shenaz Zack

  • A way for video makers to earn money from their videos
  • Advertising/ "rental" money shared with the makers
  • Aimed at the "head" of the long tail
    • Targeting makers whose vids are regularly watched by 1000s of people
  • Over 10k+ Partners right now
  • Two types of partnerships:
    • YouTube channel partner, per user account, consistently uploading new vids
    • Individual video partner, one single video is partnered
  • Criteria for becoming a partner
    • Evaluated by a combination of algorithm (each user is "scored") and human
    • "Clean" account standing - no "TOU strikes", no "copyright strikes"
    • Must own the rights to everything uploaded, "original content"
    • Consistent uploading popular materials
  • Benefits of becoming a partner: earn money from ads, or you enable rental
    • You decide which videos you want to "monetize"
    • Additional branding on your page(s)
    • Custom thumbnails
    • Longer videos
  • Lots of questions about rights, publicity, copyright
    • Zack refers to a future session about copyright but it's restricted to "insider track"
  • Some confusion about how the payments are distributed

Shaytards

  • "Shaytard", "mommytards", "babytards", "sontard"
  • Vlogging about family
  • 500+ days straight, 2.5 years
  • Q: What would you do if your son said he didn't want to be in it anymore?
    • A: I'd tell him to get his own job
  • Q: I'm a mom. How do you make the money?
    • A: "We have sufficient for our needs... we pay for everything doing YouTube"
    • A: "Our first check was about 200$... 'they're paying me to be an idiot!'"
    • A: Had many jobs before this: salesman, etc. "but it feels like the best job ever"
  • Q: "Do you fear overexposure?"
    • A: "People ask what I do, 'me and my hot wife make internet videos', that goes over well at church."
    • A: "We don't make home videos ... too busy making internet videos..."
    • A: "I have two loaded guns stored strategically around the house."
  • Q: "Ever gonna admit how much you cheated during man v wife?"
  • Q: "Will you ever reveal your kids' names?"
    • A: "Never."
  • Q: "How do you balance family and video commits?"
    • A: "Hard ... it's a full time job"

Hank Green

  • "100th most subscribed YouTuber of all time"
  • Guitar: "This machine pwns n00bs"
  • Annecdote about "biker HP fans" v. "nerd HP fans"
  • DFTBA, "Don't forget to be awesome"
    • "... you know that the person isn't a nerd fighter or isn't into online video"
    • "Duel for the best acronym"
    • "Not an acronym but an initialism"
    • Seen: tattoos, graf, name of HGs record label
    • "Inclusive ... everyone knows what 'awesome' is and that it's a good idea to try"
    • Collaboration with another YTer produced a music video and "epic dance" version

Dan Brown

  • "Not Da vinci guy"
  • Pogo, rubik's cube solving, ...
  • "20 y.o. video blogger from Lincoln, Nebraska"
  • 3 years of video blogging, ~400 vids
  • Bright red crocs, long cut off jean shorts, ringer tee
  • "Most important technology in human history ... internet"
    • Emphasizing people "from all over" connecting with people "from all over" the world
  • Dan 1.0:
    • 1999, lived in Michigan
    • Received pogo stick for christmas and learned to use it
    • Also really into Tony Hawk Pro Skater for Playstation
    • Thought about making Pogo into an extreme sport, and dreaming of being the Tony Hawk of pogo
    • Family also got internet so parents could "talk to other old people"
    • Searched for info on other pogo'rs.
    • Connected with someone named Dave in (Nebraska?)
    • Joined a connected pogo forum and the forum "became a huge part of" his life
    • Forum posters dreamed of a pogo gathering
    • Mom was pastor at a church, Lincoln, NE
    • Dan held Pogopalooza in the parking lot adjacent to the church
      • Put ppl up in his family's basement
      • "My mom had to call their moms to make sure they weren't child molesters"
    • Friends made on pogo forum, pogopalooza = real intense friendships
  • Dan 2.0
    • 2007, got digi cam for birthday
    • Still cam with vid function
    • Friend posted on FB and asked him to teach how to solve R cube
    • Knew how to edit vid because of pogo
    • Made a vid on how to solve rubik's cube
    • Posted on YT
    • 35,000 views in the first night
      • Was "in the process of going viral", now 15mil+ views
    • 2007 best of youtube, instructional vid
      • flown out to NY and got interviewed by MSM
      • "wasn't until [then] that i realized what a big deal it was"
    • Was still in high school and decided to try to make a career out of video
    • "I have grown up as a YouTuber... transition from high school to adulthood with YouTube as my job"
      • Not embarassed by old videos because he was young
  • Dan 3.0
    • Strange work habits of a prof vid blogger
      • Brainstorming late at night "half naked in a snuggie with my laptop"
    • Found docu "Us Now" via stumbleupon
    • Referred to a minor UK football team in which fans got to vote for all management decisions
    • Became a major contender, advanced to a much higher tournament than ever before
    • "What would happen if a video blogger put complete control of his life in the hands of his viewers"
    • Starting on Aug 2 for 1 year, he'll put "complete control of" his life in "your hands"
    • Teamed up with "Revision 3" to do this, building a "decision engine" to determine how he spends his time
      • Digg-style voting system, across "daily, weekly, monthly goals, and tech changes to the project"
  • "Our generation has a lot on its plate... global poverty... terrorism... warming"
    • "Global scale problems requiring global scale solutions"
    • "Dan 3.0 ... exercise in world-wide collaborative" decision making to find global solutions

Policy, Copyright, Fair Use

  • Victoria Grand and Glenn Brown, YouTube; Joe Felice (formerly of EMI?), and Allen Asch, YouTube partner and lawyer ("LiberalViewer")
  • "Insider Track" room, restricted to only people who paid a premium price
    • Checking nametags, had to talk my way in
    • Seems like a topic that vexed people in other areas
  • Older crew in this room
    • Many more men, predominantly white, as compared to rest of conference
  • Some anger, frustration, lots of misinfo
  • Session goes way over time.. supposed to end at 3:55pm, only a few people start to leave at 4:11
    • GB ends the session with a time check at 4:17 (~20 minutes over time)
    • People encouraged to come up and ask questions in person
    • Only a few people leave, most move to the front of the room
    • VG is explaining the 4 guidelines for fair use
    • 4 or 5 minutes later, AA leaves, most people seem to be waiting to talk to GB and VG

Q&A

  • Q: How do you feel about Viacom?
    • GB: We don't agree with their position
    • VG: Not just a victory for us but "a lot of startups aren't going to be able to [implement Content ID]"
    • VG: "A good day for the internet"
  • Q: Tips for producers?
    • GB: "Safest ... make it all yourself and have a paper trail for permissions"
    • Follow up: I used to spend time getting permission, now I just go ahead and do it
    • GB: "There's no way to give a concrete answer ... everything is arguable"
    • VG: Different kinds of "getting in trouble ... DMCA takedown, Content ID"
    • Follow up: What if a video has been up for a long time and I've made money on it, will I have to give that back?
    • GB: If you're a partner, you have entered into an agreement
    • JF: "Will I/won't I get sued is a different question from should I/ shouldn't I get sued?"
    • JF: "Maybe you shouldn't get sued but you will be sued."
    • GB: "Copyright owner might change their minds ... YouTube doesn't know who owns what ... we just respond" on dispute according to DMCA provision
    • VG: "Less than 1% of all videos on YouTube have been subject to DMCA copyright complaints"
    • GB: "Rumblefish ... friendly music store ... mp3 comes with a content license" permitting use in YT vids
    • GB: "Audio Swap ... sub in music that has been pre-cleared"
    • GB: Companies haven't stated explicitly: "Here's the stuff we want you to use, here's the stuff we don't"
  • AA: "That doesn't match my experience"
    • AA: "When I submit [my videos], it takes a really long time before they get monetized, get ads next to them"
    • AA: "Why does it take so long for partner videos to get approved?"
  • Q: "Last weekend, I posted a video ... usually the ads are there right away ... this time" 35000 views before the ads appeared
    • A: There's a process by which the videos are approved
    • AA: "In my partnership agreement ... all videos will be monetized within 48 hours ... very few actually are ... especially on weekends"
  • Q: Takedown stopped a video from "going viral", when dispute was resolved, the moment had passed
    • GB: Two processes:
    • GB: Content ID, machine recognizes some element of the video and is either: Blocked, Tracked, or Monetized
    • GB: If set to "Block" and certain algorithmic confidence rating, then you get a message that it's been blocked, ball goes to the user: Take down, Audio Swap, Dispute (mistake)
    • GB: If user issues Dispute, video goes back, "owner" is notified and given option to DMCA
    • GB: 2nd process: DMCA
    • GB: Copyright owner sends a notice to YouTube who passes on message to user, etc.
    • GB: There have been cases in which a user sued a copany for spurious takedown
  • AA: For flagging system, video status doesn't change until a human reviews it
    • AA: For Content ID, status changes before machine
    • AA: Lots of users are intimidated to make a Dispute
    • AA: Why not put a human in place?
    • GB: Before Google buyout: Marc Cuban asked, If there's no porn on YT, why can't they block (c)?
    • VG: Humans would make mistakes
  • AA: I agree that it's difficult for a human to do but impossible for a machine
    • GB: Machines aren't deciding arbitrarily...
    • VG: Machine enables a dialog
    • AA: Why not enable why the video is still up?
    • VG: Rock and a hard place...
  • Q: My friend worked at WB and was told to flag everything
    • GB: There are cases where a company took down a questionable video, was sued by the user, lost, and vid was restored
    • Q: Most users don't have the resources to do a counter suit?
    • Q: Why not a 2-day grace period?
    • VG: "Expeditious removal" is under 24 hours, required for safe harbor
    • GB: "If you don't feel confident about disputing the claim, don't use other people's stuff"
    • GB: "Not a satisfying answer to say 'If in doubt, leave it out'"
  • VG: "Do you remember the 'Downfall' videos?"
    • VG: We assumed that the content owner was okay with it because they hadn't taken action
    • VG: We had no way to defend the videos, fair use must be decided in a court of law - and what if law is different in DE?
    • JF: "Really easy" for big companies to use the tool, users "don't fight back too hard"
  • VG: "Positive side of Content ID. Vast majority of content owners choose to Monetize the videos. We hope that it's a trend"
  • Q: "Why can't use pre-identify a video as 'fair use'?"
  • Q: "Can users get access to a list of all the files in Content ID?" could say, 'Hey YouTube Head's up I am making a fair use of x'
    • GB: "That's a world we want to build ... have to convince copyright owners ... "
    • Q: "Would be great to know ahead of time ... "
    • GB: "We totally agree ... trying to show that model works ..."
    • AA: "Copyright holder could change their mind ... circle circle dot dot ... "
    • GB: "Nice thing about Rumblefish, CC is you get royalty-free license ahead of time"
    • GB: "'user-friendly approach' ... would be nice to see a brand competing to be friendly to their fans"
  • JF: "What incentive do the copyright holders have to do this?"
    • GB: "What's the best way to promote a new song? Ask YouTube users to make a viral video for the song"
    • JF: "I'd like to rebut. Sounds like a great marketing plan for a single song."
    • JF: "Easier to not set out principles in advance. Easier to wait and see what is done with the songs"
    • GB: "That is a rational approach ... artists change their minds too"
    • GB: "I do think there's room for people to be more straightforward"
  • Q: "Could you shift the hosting to another server?"
    • GB, VG: "Not sure it technologically works that way."
  • Q: "What's the term limit for fair use?"
    • Q: In the case of old news, what if it isn't news anymore?
    • AA: "Not much of a market for old news." (re: Fair use test)
  • Q: International?
    • GB: Try to generalize ... "consistent user experience"
  • Q: "Where's a good place to educate yourself about this?"
    • VG: "Not enough copyright education out there..."
    • VG: "EFF website is great"
  • AA: "Consequences for filing false Content ID" (DMCA used as a tool for harassment, personal info released on DMCA)
    • GB: "I don't know if we've gone after anyone yet ..."
    • VG: "You can spend infinite resources ... " but crazy ppl still crazy
    • AA: "Can you protect the personal information?"
    • AA: "Seen it happen to at least 100 people already"
  • GB: "Anyone in the world can file a DMCA notice"
    • GB: For "turbocharged tools" like Content ID, they send a notice to people, "You may not realize ..."
  • Q: "I've had videos taken down ... because of something in the title ... ruined the whole monetization ... I lost out on a potential profit ... is that grounds to sue?"
    • GB: Something is in DMCA about abuse
    • Q: "It's been 3 weeks ... no one cares" if the video is put back, it's a bittersweet victory
  • GB: "Most people use the tools responsibly"
    • GB: "We've caught people using bots on their own and we discourage them from doing that... how's a bot going to swear under penalty of perjury"
    • Q: "Parents told me to think about suing but I figured it wouldn't go anywhere ..."
    • VG: "You should contact the EFF about your particular case"
  • Q: "Is there a way for users to get their material in the Content ID system?"
    • GB: "We're trying to scale out ..."
    • YT person: http://www.youtube.com/t/contentid
    • Audience: Great video at TED talks by Margarent Stewart
      • Uses example of JK wedding video, good case for leaving the content up
  • Q: Tech question about how Content ID works ...
  • Q: Frustrated with partner email form, "I write physical letters to YouTube"
    • VG: "24 hours of video uploaded every minute - "
    • AA: "- We spend a lot time doing our videos!
    • Q: "How many hours of monetized videos go up...?"
  • Q: What if the song is only used for :40, they shouldn't get monetization for the whole video?
    • JF: Very nebulous question. In some cases, they should get it
    • Q: How do you negotiate?
    • GB: "Copyright owner gets full control over the derivative work"
    • JF: If you are sued for an unlicensed track, the owner is suing you for 100% of the work
  • Q: We try to cover up logos but sometimes they slip through, "filming in the wild" ?
    • VG: "Might be a trademark issue ..."
    • GB: "Usually a consumer protection issue"
  • Q: I have written permission from the artists but when I put the video on YT, I end up in a dispute with EMI
    • GB: "Multiple copyrights in any particular piece of music. Maybe they weren't clear on the rights they could give you."
    • JF: "In many cases, writers of the song don't have control to make the decision unilaterally."

Jump offs

  • Lotus v Borland, IP on UI
  • Lenz v Universal, Prince playing in background
    • How Content ID works == TED talk by Margarent Stewart

Bios

  • Asch, political vlogger, "uses lots of fair use videos"
    • Used to be a public defender
    • Is now involved with ACLU and online rights
  • Felice, currently a YouTuber but used to work at EMI
    • Was personally involved in takedowns, and "monetizing" videos on YT
    • Not officially speaking for EMI, not a lawyer
  • Brown, formerly copyright lawyer for YT, now doing Music partnerships
  • Grand, works on copyright policy

Shane Dawson

  • Lives in NoHo
  • Gives big donations to a local Spanish Catholic school so he can shoot vids there
  • Some tension around Fred v Shane
  • Question about weight loss
    • Shane credits YouTube engagement with 150lb weight loss
  • Poop humor

Q&A

  • Q: What kept you going?
    • A: Trying to get out of my shitty life. My mom, my bro, and I were almost homeless and now I pay her rent.
  • Q: What's your favorite video that you've made?
    • A: "Why was I born?" Was about suicide, helped a lot of people
  • Q: Which video was most time consuming?
    • A: The DeGrassi spoofs
    • A: Most proud of Fatherless Day
  • Q: Can I touch your hair?
    • A: Feels like if God had chest hair.
  • Q: Has it ever been too overwhelming to you so that you thought of leaving YouTube?
    • A: I need to take a vacation and I think I'll do it soon
    • A: But I keep thinking of everybody laughing at their computers
  • Q: I am probably one of your youngest viewers. I turn 12 in x days. Why are you so sexy?
  • Q: You're getting popular even in the community that doesn't watch YouTube. You know, the people that come on to watch illegal music videos and what not. How do you feel about that?
    • A: I want to be in TV, film... It's cool that I'm transcending... that I can make viewers that aren't even Internet people
  • Q: What happened on day 1?
    • A: I was an actor and I used to audition for all sorts of shit that I would never get
    • A: Had a weird experience at an audition and needed to talk to someone about it
  • Q: My mom and I want to know ... is there an actor that inspires you?
    • A: Jodi Foster because I stole her haircut, Dakota Fanning because I like little kids that talk like adults
  • Q: You make all these sex jokes and yet you are pro-celibacy. Why do you do that?
    • (Britney): We're both waiting until marriage. We're both goody-two shoes.
    • A: I'm lazy.
  • Q: Who did you start watching on YouTube?
    • A: Community Channel

Videographer response

  • I feel I just got done videotaping an interview with Donnie and Marie!
  • Somebody named Britney and Shawn?
  • And I actually taped Donnie and Marie once!

Bridging the gap

  • James, special FX
  • Dave Days, YouTube musician
  • David ?, head of digital media for talent agency Innovative Media
  • Grace ? from Disney attended but was told not to be on the panel
    • Turns up she is in the audience
    • Dave Days, "Grace is the one who introduced me to Miley"
    • People convince Grace to speak anyway
    • "This is one of the challenges of working with big brands, big companies ... politics"
    • "I might get fired if I sit up there"

Q&A

  • Q: How does stuff move to different platforms?
    • D?: No recipe. If it feels different between what's on television
    • D?: Fat Guy Stuck In Internet - started online moved to Adult Swim
    • D?: "Online platform is maturing"
  • Q: Is there a way to "get noticed", "make contact"
    • G?: There aren't many people like me
    • G?: "I specifically work with social media"
    • G?: "I don't think [my] kind of people exist in other companies"
    • G?: "If you have a niche, there is definitely some brand that can relate to you"
  • Q: What's the difference working on your own?
    • DD: Working with PopTarts
    • DD: "Overconsumption law" meant that he had to re-shoot the video 5 times
    • DD: Too many poptarts
    • CM: Working with Disney/Pixar, Grace told him, "do what you normally do"
    • CM: Working with BBC on their Twit/YT channel, they blurred the brand off his tshirt or obscured the image of his laptop
    • CM: "If I like Toy Story, I'm going to talk about it. If I am fortunate enough to work with the company behind it, well, I was going to talk about it anyway so they are helping me do it better."
  • G?: How is it working with mainstream media?
    • CM: Had opportunity to do "conventional presenting" / didn't want to brush it off, wanted to give it a try. Ended up not liking "being in stuff" wanted to "make and be in stuff"
    • DD: Working with producers is "cool", "more feedback" / Producer as collaborator
    • DD: "Bad thing ... who owns what ... who owns the song ... "
    • CM: "Working with someone ... working for someone ..."
  • Q: D and C, you were both creative types first. Did you have learn to be more business-minded or did you have someone like Grace helping you?
    • CM: I had become business minded so that I wouldn't be exploited. Competes with
    • G?: This is why you see YouTubers getting managers to keep the creatives shielded from the business.
    • DD: Grace wrote me and said, "Hey, I think I can help you meet Miley." It was so smooth. I guess she takes care of the business side.
    • FX: Walked into a Comedy Central deal where we were producers, writers but not sure stars and no merch. Decided to walk away and hook up YouTube. Planning to build and audience and move BACK to TV with better leverage.
    •  ??: We didn't realize that YouTube was a community. Not only people with family in the business. Not Scientologists.
    •  ??: Why even live in LA? you could move somewhere else and buy a house for 100,000.
    •  ??: I warn YouTubers to stay away from the sharks in Hollywood.
    •  ??: On YouTube, you don't need the networks
    •  ??: YouTube is doing to TV what iTunes is doing to music
    •  ??: Was pitching ideas to promote Lost. I told them I think TV is on its way out. "You trust Neilsen box in 1200 homes over the view count on YouTube?"
  • Q: Where do you think it's going to go? If Dexter was on internet, I'd unsubscribe from cable.
    • FX: Cable and TV will always be there. They are merging.
    •  ??: Disney is show in SD when YouTubers are shooting HD, 7-D Canon cameras (now being used on House)
  • Q: Why is the CPM so much higher on traditional TV/cable?
    •  ??: Jimmy K. gets fewer views than Dave but Jimmy gets paid 100x more.
    •  ??: Exec said YouTube "views don't count"
    •  ??: Views are more accurate than the Neilsen box
  • Q: I can usually tell if someone is pitching something. I don't really care. Sell outs?
    • DD: Make it as organic as possible. Not too hokey.
    • DD: You just have to ignore the sell out comments.
    • CM: If you don't feel like you're selling out to yourself but other people feel that you are ... interesting balance
  • Q: Do bigger corporations understand social media? I see them say follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Do they even listen? Care?
    • G?: Some people trust me. As many or more people that don't get it.
    • G?: People at the top are 50-60 y.o. execs and some of them don't get it.
    • FX: 5-6 years ago, it seems that people didn't understand but now it feels like there are more savvy people. Great alleyways for content producers to get noticed, to get in.
    • D?: New media isn't new anymore. Can't ignore. There's more people on YouTube on Friday night than watching NBC. How do you define a network in 2010?
    • D?: Background in traditional TV. Educated an entire generation of people that content is free as long as it's supported by ads. And that model ended up not working out. Networks' digital divisions disappeared. Trying to put the genie back in the bottle. Convince audience to pay for premium content. My job is to find great artists and protect their vision, voices. To not only be a creator but to make a living in the process. When you need to get paid for your efforts, you come back to either the brands or the big media companies that can pay.
    • D?: If Fred's movie becomes a huge hit, the big media companies are going to have a different view of YouTube.
    • D?: The metrics are still fuzzy.
  • Q: When is old media going to wake up?
    • D?: What makes you think they haven't woken up?
  • Q: Not sure these metrics comparisons are good.
    • G?: Is Hulu a legal site?
  • Q(me): Examples of social, ethical conflicts?
    • FX: YouTube starting to borrow from TV, adding ratings, flags for language
    • FX: YouTube asking us to bleep our bad words
  • Q: Do traditional media creatives give friction to CM or DD?
    • Q: Do they get treated badly like overnight successes?
    • A (from audience): very angry man shouting, what does waiting tables have to do with acting? Anyone who resents them should go screw.
    • G?: They're not hacks. They are talented folks.
    • FX: People in the top 100 work their butts off to get there and get subscribers
    •  ??: Some people fail -- even with the Disney machine behind them
    •  ??: These guys are self-made stars
    • CM: Never experienced the jealousy. Maybe it's behind the scenes.
    •  ??: I'd love to see YouTube get some competition. To raise up the CPM.




Talking to individual people

  • In general, I feel extremely outsiderish.
  • There are people squeeing and taking photos with folks I don't recognize at all
    • (One exception: Tay Zonday of Chocolate Rain!)
  • Many people carrying video tech openly
    • Point'n'shoot digicams
    • Flip
    • Smartphones (some iPhone)
    • Small HD handheld video cameras

Jase Haber's friend

  • Walking thru the vendor area, a man stopped me and said, "wouldn't you like a t shirt?"
  • I said, "Not really. What's on the t shirt?"
  • He told me about Jase Haber, who is a "vlogger living in Miami"
    • "And it's in Miami so you know it's got to be cool"
    • He compared JH to another vlogger that I don't know
    • "Everyday life stuff" ... "sometimes he fixes up his house and gives you a tour"
  • The guy appears to be about 20-25 yo. white, very sweaty, shorter than me but stockier
  • I asked him if he was from Miami
    • He replied that he wasn't but that he was from Arizona
  • How did he end up giving out the shirts?
    • He was a fan of Jase and messaged him on YouTube
    • They ended up playing Call of Duty on XBOX "like every night"
  • He wanted to come to VidCon "because [somebody] and [somebody] were going to be here. You know, all the big higher ups of YouTube"
    • Jase offered to pay his way if he could get a hotel room and drive to LA
      • "But last night I stayed in Jase's room because we got really drunk and ... man, I'm still pretty, you know... now..."
    • In return, he is posted up in the vendor room giving away JH tshirts

Shawn Ahmed

  • Thought he knew me from Notre Dame
  • Very friendly, interested in our project, open to interview
  • Happy that there was a collabo possible w Nerdfighters + Uncultured
  • "I always think my videos are crap"
  • Had experienced positive feedback IRL at a nerdfighter gathering at a library in Burbank (i think?)
Retrieved from "http://www.kevindriscoll.org/wiki/VidCon_2010"
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