San Diego Comic-Con 2020 was a to experience to see if a convention could move entirely online during the new coronavirus pandemic. The result was … mixed. There were some things that worked on it, but overall the event was a disaster. With DC FanDome And other digital-only conventions on the horizon, io9 staff gathered to discuss what other pitfalls they can learn from SDCC mistakes.
I was joined by my io9 colleagues — Jill Pantozzi, Cheryl Eddy, James Whitbrook, Charles Pulliam-Moore, and Germain Lussier — to talk about what didn’t work about SDCC 2020, for lack of support for artists and vendors who would generally be in the showroom, in the absence of fan participation, on how to create a sense of energy that the fringe of the convention of the pre-recorded “family zoom call” style panels were missing. And, with big pillars like Disney and Warner Bros. jumping out of the scam (and even some attendees saving great news to release alone after the scam is wrapped), we also discussed about wwhat the organization will have to do in 2021 to demonstrate that it’s still the place to get the nerdiest news each summer.
Watch the video above to see what digital cons must do to make sure fans (and panelists) are happy during a very uncertain time. We’ve also written our highlights from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, that you you can see here.
Let’s cross our fingers for a vaccine and cons in person in 2021!
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