VidCon proves that new social media stars can make themselves known without YouTube



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ANAHEIM, CA – More than 75,000 people traveled this weekend to the California-based Anaheim Convention Center for VidCon, a three-day conference dedicated to the wild world of online video and its main creators.

Some of the most admired Millennials, including David Dobrik, Emma Chamberlain and Joey Graceffa, were present.

VidCon, which was in its tenth year of existence, was originally intended to present an area exclusively made up of YouTubers in 2010. But in 2019, VidCon offered aspiring creators, insiders of the sector and fans to attend events encompbading a number of other platforms where videos are consumed: TikTok, Snapchat, Twitch, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even LinkedIn.

"These verticals are very interesting and creative," said Jim Louderback, general manager of VidCon, at Business Insider. "There are new mediums and new canvases in which creators can be, and they are discovering, right now, in real time."

Read more: Inside the rise of TikTok, the application of video sharing with 1 billion downloads belonging to a large Chinese Internet company

Not less than a dozen online creators who spoke to Business Insider last week had the same advice to give to aspirants YouTubers, TikTokers and Instagrammers: "Be genuine."

With more platforms getting influencer treatment, creators are discovering new ways and new places to become authentic that they encourage. YouTube, once considered a new age, is now the dominant platform that everyone knows, which means that many are turning to rival platforms to try their luck.

YouTube has not responded to Business Insider's comment request.

Gilmher Croes (left) and Jayden Croes, two of TikTok's biggest stars, speaking at VidCon 2019.
Paige Leskin / Business Insider

More and more emerging creators are now starting to use applications such as the TikTok short video platform.

One of these examples is a pair of Aruba brothers aged 20 or older: Gilmher and Jayden Croes. A few years ago, the life of the Croes brothers was "pure and simple," they told Business Insider. Then, in 2015, the Croes brothers found their fame when some of their lip sync videos were found on the TikTok home page and became viral. Today, they are two of the most popular stars of TikTok: Jayden, 20, has 15.7 million followers and Gilmher, 26, has 18.1 million.

"Our content was very simple … in one way or another, it worked," said Gilmher Croes at Business Insider. "It's very easy to create (on TikTok) .If a hashtag is fashionable, anyone can step in."

Although publishing on TikTok does not guarantee virality, it means that the Internet's renown potential can be as simple as a 15-second video, while YouTube's built-in algorithm favors clips. longer. Even the content on YouTube has come a long way, from cat videos that dominated the platform 10 years ago to professionally edited viral challenges and complex jokes.

More platforms means more creators, people producing videos and memos for apparently any type of audience. This year, VidCon presented creative panels that duplicate iconic dishes and dishes, paired creators, ASMR content producers and humans behind viral pet stars.

Even the most "specialized" panels have attracted the attention of teenagers participating in VidCon, many of whom travel with chaperones to surprise their favorite designers. For 13-year-old Sierra, she waited all day for a Q & A session with Irish videographer Jacksepticeye. Her 15-year-old friend Parker, wearing the pride flag as a cape, said the highlight of their VidCon was a panel of LGBTQ activists.

"I want to come here since I watched YouTube for the first time, you do not know who you are going to see, or what you are going to see," Sierra told Business Insider. "Usually, only people get the recognition they deserve."

Fans with VidCon 2019.
Tom Vickers / MOVI Inc

Some fans have queued for hours for coveted meetings with their favorite creators. The security around the event was tight: the creators featured were not allowed on the ground floor of VidCon without a security escort, for fear of producing an uncontrollable crowd of fans and screaming chaos.

"Every time I go to school, 90% of kids tell me," I want to be a YouTuber. "They want to be social media stars," said DeStorm Power, a YouTuber guest at VidCon since first edition in 2010. "You have to understand, these are their stars.How would you react if you saw Mariah Carey?"

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