Should You Attend VidCon Next Year 🎤

The creator economy felt the heat last week with two events that seem to grow each year. The South of France was scorching in actual temperature as well as the heated excitement of Cannes Lions. Anaheim, the usual summer home of families trekking to see the Mouse House, but last week was another amazing year of VidCon. I stuck close to home and hit all things VidCon this year, so let’s jump in.

One year ago, I was standing in the basement of the Anaheim Convention Center with my niece and brother in law waiting to grab my badge. This year, I was invited to speak. Let that sink in for a second — because honestly, I’m still trying to process it myself.

I’m Devin, former TV producer turned Dad content creator. In less than two years I have over 100 million views a year and went from $0 to over $10K a month in revenue working with 30 plus brands on social. I was forced to make a career pivot in my mid 40’s and betting on a new creative path, this bet landed me on a stage at VidCon.

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Last year I remember those exhibit halls seeing the excitement as a fan and this year I was the one on stage. Being checked into the VIP lounge and escorted to our stage. It felt a little unnecessary because I’m pretty sure I was not going to get mobbed by my parent followers, but it was also a reminder of how far I’ve come in a short amount of time.

I got up on stage and let me tell you this not a natural thing for me despite doing stand-up comedy in my 20’s for a few years. I was the kid in class who waited until the very end when it was speech day, hoping I would be saved by the bell.

I waited and hoped the bell would save me and I wouldn’t have to do the speech in front of the class. That never happened, they always made me do it and I hated it. But as time has gone by, I don’t hate it any longer.

And now I look forward to getting the chance to share my creator journey. That is exactly what I did to a room full of 30 plus people and may or may not have Chris Kattan been in the audience. I’m a huge SNL fan, so for me that was pretty cool. But I shared how I lost my job in reality TV and had to make a career pivot in my mid 40’s. I turned to my own reality which was the chaos of parenting and turned that into a content career. I share much of this journey on social and it was great getting the chance in person to share it as well. So wow what a full circle moment and for those in a career pivot, I say it’s possible and just continue to push forward.

VidCon isn’t just a fan convention anymore. It’s where the creator economy is showing up - from brands, to creators, to founders and tech. Not just the tech platforms we post on, but how can tech help creators more.

This year creators are more than just creating and posting on social. They are building something, they are founders and they are finding new ways to monetize their work. The connections happened in the halls, the talks and the parties. This year I made some great connections at events thrown by Rockwater, Adobe, and Viral Nation.

Here’s what I’ve learned this year as a speaker and a creator in the room not just walking through the rooms: the programming is the excuse to be there. The rooms, parties and connections are where things happen.

And this year, Creator pickleball took center stage shooting a show with Creator TV. Now that is creator economy and where it is headed in action. That’s VidCon.

Here is what you should ask yourself?

-Are you a creator?

-Are you in traditional media?

-Are you building something that could help media and creators?

If you can answer yes to just one of these three, then book your flight, book your tickets and start planning for VidCon 2027. The dates next year will be Jul 8th-10th, 2027. And it looks like Cannes Lions will be June 21-25, 2027, so they will not be competing or overlapping as much next year as it did this year. The creator economy is growing and creators these are the events you need to be at. If you missed this year, there are plenty of folks on LinkedIn talking about their experiences, start taking notes and see which rooms you want to be in next year.

Your past experience may not be outdated. It may just be waiting for a new platform.

The question isn't whether the industry changed, it’s whether you can find a way to utilize your skills and use them in the creator economy.

If this one hit, forward it to someone who's been sleeping on their own experience. Or reply and tell me what your "old skill" is — I read every one.

Keep creating,

Devin the Dad Former TV Producer. Current Chaos Coordinator.

P.S. —Know a creator who's building and looking for new ways to grow? Forward this to them.

P.P.S. — If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you want more of this every week, [subscribe here]. No spam. No fluff. Just a dad trying to figure it out — and taking you along for the ride. 🎬