YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki named official industry keynote speaker at VidCon

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki will be the keynote speaker at this year’s annual VidCon Conference, organizers said Tuesday.

The three-day conference in late July at the Anaheim Convention Center is for people -- industry executives, video content creators, viral video stars and their fans -- who love online video.

“I was a big advocate of Google’s acquisition of YouTube back in 2006 when the platform was just a year old,” Wojcicki said in a statement. “Now that we’re celebrating YouTube’s 10th birthday, VidCon is the perfect place to reflect with the community on how far we’ve come, and focus on the future of online video and all the big opportunities that lie ahead.”

The longtime executive, who previously headed advertising and commerce at Google, addressed attendees at her first VidCon last year. She unveiled a series of new initiatives, including “fan subtitles” and the ability for users to upload videos to YouTube in up to 60 fps (frames per second).

She will be joined by Jim Lanzone of CBS Interactive, Ze Frank of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, Albie Hecht of HLN, Mark Terbeek of Greycroft Partners and David Beebe of Marriott International, organizers said Tuesday.

Last month, VidCon announced Baljeet Singh (product lead for television and video at Twitter), Zander Lurie (senior vice president of media at GoPro) and Jason Kilar (former CEO of Hulu and Founder of video platform Vessel) will also be featured speakers at the conference.

The event will feature more than 540 speakers, organizers said. It is also offering a new programming experience called the Creator Track, which targets up-and-coming creators seeking guidance on how to be successful in online video.

Panel topics range from “Building Audiences on Twitter and Vine” to “YouTube Optimization and Audience Development.” In addition to panels and keynote speeches, there will (of course) also be a VidCon Prom and planned Disneyland meet-up day.

When VidCon began in 2010, the conference took place at a smaller venue in Los Angeles and drew about 1,400 attendees. Last year, a whopping 18,000 people packed the Convention Center.

Hank Green, who founded the conference with his brother author John Green, told The Times last month that he expects this year will have an even bigger turnout, with about 20,000 guests.

“The goal of VidCon has always been to reflect the state of the online video industry,” he said. “There is a lot of platform diversification going on in video. You’ve got really interesting things happening in the space ... new ways to connect with audiences, new ways to monetize content and new systems of distribution.”

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