VidCon 2015: Meetups

How has it already been two weeks since VidCon? It feels like just yesterday that I was surrounded by tons of content creators and viewers and hanging out with some of my best friends. This year, the creators of VidCon did meetups a bit differently, but I feel like it worked out pretty well. Basically, about a month or two before the event started, you could rank your top 15 creators for the signing lottery. Once the ranking section was over, they put all of the data into a computer and let it work for a while generating everyone's results.

People got between two and four signings, varying for each person. I was really happy with my results as I got Dan and Phil, my two favorite creators, but I know that some people were dissapointed that they didn't get their fave. When you think about it though, the lottery really does make a lot of sense. I'm not saying that it's perfect, as it definitely has some flaws, but it's a pretty good system. That way, you go into the event knowing exactly who you're meeting and you only have to wait a few hours, not twelve.

I had three signings, one each day, and I was really happy with my results. On the first day, I met Josh Sundquist, author of the book We Should Hang Out Sometime. He was super sweet, and I got to meet his fiance too, since she walked around the line and hung out with some of us during the wait. He signed my book, we chatted a bit, took some selfies, and then it was over. He seems like a really sweet and down to earth guy, which was really nice being able to see youtubers as real people.

My second signing the next day was with PJ Liguori, Chris Kendall, Mitchel Davis, and Olan Rodgers. Everyone was so sweet, lovely, and tall. We got a group picture and then I got to hug each one and since there were so many people, this was definitely one of the more "say hi and bye" type meet and greets, but they were still all really nice and gave good hugs.

On the last day of VidCon, I had my most anticipated signing: Dan and Phil. I had asked people on Twitter and Tumblr to send in little messages for them, and before I left for California I typed them all out, printed them, and put them in a jar that I later decorated. The jar was filled with so many Tumblr urls, Twitter handles, and notes. When I met them, I had to put the jar on a table before walking up, but it's okay because at least they got it. Dan and Phil are some of the sweetest people. Hands down some of the most genuine and caring creators out there. When I walked (okay, ran) up to them, the only thing I could think about was how tall they were, so of course that's the first thing I blurted out. They give such great hugs though, like Phil leans down and puts his head on your shoulder and Dan hugs you, but it's just the best feeling in the entire world. They looked so good too, plus again, they were sosososo sweet. Also, Dan took most/all of the selfies, so he held my phone, so that was another thing that happened. Meeting them was by far the best thing that happened at VidCon and I'm so glad that I was able to.

Walking around the convention is also a great way to run into people. I met Phil's brother when I went to the Dan and Phil shop booth since he owns/manages it, and he was also super nice, but no surprise there; everyone was amazing. Also, sometimes youtubers (especially the smaller ones) will have their own impromptu meetups, like Ben J. Pierce did. He tweeted it out the night before, and lots of people showed up, myself included. He was so nice and lovely and meeting him was super cool.

VidCon was hands down one of the best times of my entire life, and I can't explain how amazing this event is in words. If you enjoy YouTube/the internet, I would definitely suggest going. Not only can you meet some of your lovely internet friends, but you also have the chance of meeting some of your favorite content creators as well.

~Maddison