Hank Green announced on Medium that they will not be doing PodCon again. This news will probably disappoint people who were hoping to attend PodCon 3. According to Hank, Travis, Justin, Jeffery, Joseph and Monica, “The short version is: We couldn’t make it sustainable.”

The Medium blog post includes a list of the main reasons why they weren’t able to get PodCon “to a safe, sustainable place.” The reasons include:

We couldn’t fundamentally change PodCon to make it make more financial sense.

Large podcasts have a successful and sustainable business model in live show touring. “This can make it difficult to attract creators who can sell tickets without paying them the amount they would doing a touring show. We also wouldn’t want podcasters to negatively impact their livelihood just to help out for free.”

The “evening out” lie show system also works well for podcasts fans. “Many of their attendees said they would rather have an evening out than a two day event.”

Conventions are expensive to run and attend. “We wanted to run a show that paid staff a living wage, paid for the travel expenses and lodging of all invited guests, looked and sounded fantastic to audiences, and invited a variety of guests without thinking only about whether they could sell tickets, but also the value of the perspectives they could provide. We couldn’t do that in a sustainable way and we’re unwilling to compromise on any of that stuff.”

Sponsorships were extremely difficult to sell.

Those who want to go and get a piece of PodCon can visit their merch site and buy some leftover PodCon merchandise.

PodCon2 will take place at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington, on January 19-20, 2019. Tickets are on sale now. It appears the way to purchase a ticket is do it through the PodCon IndieGogo campaign.

Once you’ve purchased your ticket for PodCon, you can book a discounted hotel room at the Sheraton Seattle, located across the street from the Washington State Convention Center. PodCon recommends you make sure to book your room before December 17, 2018, to get the group discount.

Featured Guests include:

• Adal Rifai – Hello from the Magic Tavern
• Arnie Nickapm – Hello from the Magic Tavern
• Bianca Zelda – The Broadswords
• Carrie Poppy – Oh No Ross and Carrie
• Cecil Baldwin – Narrator of Welcome to Night Vale
• Dylan Marron – Conversations With People Who Hate Me; Welcome to Night Vale
• Griffin McElroy – My Brother, My Brother, and Me; The Adventure Zone; Wonderful!
• Hana Baba – The Stoop
• Hank Green – Dear Hank and John; Delete This
• Jeffrey Cranor – Welcome to Night Vale; Night Vale Presents
• John Green – Dear Hank and John; The Anthropocene Reviewed
• Jon Bernstein – Welcome to Night Vale; Alice Isn’t Dead
• Joseph Fink – Welcome to Night Vale; Night Vale Presents
• Justin McElroy – My Brother, My Brother, and Me; The Adventure Zone; Sawbones
• Katherine Green – Delete This
• Kristin Felmons – The Broadswords
• Lauren Shippen – The Bright Sessions
• Lelia Day – The Stoop
• Matt Young – Hello from the Magic Tavern
• Meg Bashwiner – Welcome to Night Vale; Good Morning Night Vale
• Paul Bae – The Big Loop; The Black Tapes
• Roman Mars – 99% Invisible; Radiotopia
• Ross Blocher – Oh No Ross and Carrie
• Symphony Sanders – Welcome to Night Vale; Good Morning Night Vale
• Tracy Gibbons – The Broadswords
• Travis McElroy – My Brother, My Brother, and Me; The Adventure Zone, Shmanners; and more
• Victoria Rogers – The Broadswords

PodCon is a podcasting conference that is the result of conversations between Hank Green, Joseph Fink, Jeffery Cranor, and Travis & Justin McElroy. The purpose of PodCon is to be a place where people who really get into podcasts can be together for a couple of days. PodCon has released an Agenda that shows what to expect each day.

PodCon will take place on December 9-10, 2017, in the Washington State Convention Center, in Seattle, Washington. Those who purchase tickets to PodCon can register on December 8, 2017.

Events in the Agenda are subject to change. Each day includes Creator Chats, Meetups, Workshops, and select Signings, which are available to all ticket holders who participate in the lotteries.

Here is a little bit of the Agenda for December 9, 2017:

* The PodCon Opening Show, and the LORE podcast, will be on the main stage.

* Panels include: “Let’s Talk About Networks”, “We Love Communities” and “Creating a Story Together”

* Workshops include: “You Like Podcasts?!: Deaf Accessibility in Audio Narratives”, “Writing Compelling Characters and Scintillating Stories” “Podcast Equipment, Recording, and Editing 101”, “We’ll Do It Live!” and “Voice Acting Workshop”

* There will also be Podcasts, Signings, Creator Chats, and Meetups.

Here is a little bit of the Agenda for December 10, 2017:

* Panels include: “How to Create Straight Characters”, “Everybody has a Podcast”, “Diversity and Inclusion in Tabletop Gaming”,“Translating a Podcast to a Live Show” and “Serial Fiction Storytelling”.

* Workshops include: “Interviewing 101 with RadioActive Youth Media”, “Brother, Can You Spare a Microphone? Your Library Is a Podcasting Hub!”, “Writing Feedback Session”, “Your Next Five Years: Monetization, Community Building, and Social Media” and “Not Gay as in Happy: Creating LGBTQ+ Inclusive Spaces

* There will also be Podcasts, Signings, Creator Chats, Meetups, and more.

For more details about the Agenda, as well as the tickets, sponsors, featured guests, and hotel and travel options, visit the PodCon website.

PodCon will take place in Seattle, Washington, on December 9 and 10 of 2017. It is a place where people can get together and really just “get into” podcasts for a couple of days. Tickets are on sale now.  PodCon started by raising money through crowdfunding on Indiegogo.  That campaign has now closed, with $243,746 raised by 3,022 backers.

There is an interesting description on the PodCon website about how it got started:

PodCon is the result of a conversation between four people:

Hank Green (who has run a bunch of conferences and conventions)

Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor (who created Welcome to Night Vale)

Travis McElroy (who produces more podcasts than any other known human.)

PodCon will bring together a diverse group of podcast pros in Seattle, Washington for two days of live podcasts, performances, discussions, workshops, and weirdness. You can expect live podcasts from your favorite creators, special guest performances, panel discussions for both creators and fans, expert-led creative workshops, and “a whole bunch of wacky weirdness.”

Featured Guests Include:

• Gaby Dunn – Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn
• Dylan Marron – Welcome to Night Vale
• Phoebe Judge and Lauren Spohrer – Criminal
• Rod and Karen Morrow – The Black Guy Who Tips
• Roman Mars – 99% Invisible
• Franchesca Ramsey – Last Name Basis
• Aaron Mahnke – Lore
• Kevin T. Porter – Gilmore Guys
• Hank and John Green – Dear Hank and John
• Dr. Sydnee McElroy – Sawbones
• Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy – My Brother, My Brother and Me

There are two types of tickets. You can purchase a General Admission ticket for $100.00. Or, if you want to attend PodCon (but cannot make it there in person), you can purchase a Remote Attendance ticket. It costs $30.00.

The Remote Attendance ticket works like this: You buy one. PodCon happens. A few weeks after the event, PodCon sends you password protected podcast links with audio recordings of almost all of the panels, performances, and live recordings. I’ve never heard of a podcasting conference offering this to ticket buyers.