Jim Louderback, who has attended every VidCon, breaks down the three tracks: community, creator, and industry. Pick creator if you're emerging, industry if you're building a business. Hit the sponsor booths, parties, and sessions. In 2013 he brought a 60-foot mechanical shark after selling his YouTube network to Discovery.
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Hey, I'm Jim Louderback and I am uniquely suited to tell you how to get the most out of VidCon because I am the only person that has been to every single VidCon. First, the speaker and sponsor, then running the industry track, then running the whole thing. So first off, remember VidCon is 3 shows in 1. You don't want to be on the community track with a ticket because that's just fan stuff. You want to either be on the creator track if you're an up-and-coming creator or the industry track if you're building big businesses. Second, make sure you talk to everybody. You'll never know if the person sitting next to you is somebody who's building a huge business or happens to have 10 million followers. You can learn from everyone. You can see everyone and you can make great connections. Go to the parties, go to the events, talk to people. Oh, and visit all of the sponsors, the people with, with booths, particularly on the creator track and the industry track, because they're all doing really interesting things and they might give you really good ideas. They might help you with some secrets and they might give you something free too. Oh, and yeah, you can go downstairs and walk around the expo floor too. That's fun. You'll probably get some free candy. And finally, a story for you. Well, in 2013, I actually brought a 60-foot mechanical shark to VidCon. I had just sold my YouTube network to Discovery. It was Shark Week and they wanted to have that shark there so they could appeal to the kids. You're not going to see a shark this year at VidCon. But what you will see is tons of great experiences, lots of performances, and make sure you attend as many sessions as possible because there are the top speakers in the world on how to build businesses around the world in the world of community-first and online video. But the one thing you have to remember is have fun. It's VidCon!
