iCreator Conference 2019

On 7 November 2019, I attended iCreator Conference 2019 at Mitrtown Hall, on the fifth floor of Samyan Mitrtown in Bangkok. Organised by RAiNMaker, the conference brought creators, media practitioners and online platforms together. The organiser’s Eventpop listing records the date, time and venue.

For me, a valuable part of the day was meeting, talking with and seeking advice from people whose work I had seen on screen. They worked across food reviews, travel, technology publishing and website development. That range gave me several different ways to think about creative work.

The creators I met

Nai Hoi and Lam Song from Wongnai were the food-review duo I remembered for their deadpan character and “Very Good!” catchphrase. Their work offers a clear example of a recognisable creative identity. Wongnai’s collection of Nai Hoi food reviews provides context for their work at the time. Meeting and talking with the people behind those videos made the idea of a memorable creator identity feel much more tangible.

Mint — Monthon Kasantikul, the creator of I Roam Alone — brought a personal perspective to travel storytelling. I had the opportunity to talk with her and seek advice at the conference. She also appeared in the programme’s The Art of Storytelling session. Its emphasis on starting with personal interests offers a useful question to revisit: what do I actually want to share with an audience? Looking back today, I value that connection between a creator’s own perspective and the stories they choose to tell.

Menn — Chakkrisn Talawat, from SeedThemes — worked in website design and development, including WordPress themes for Thai users. His work is documented in the WordCamp Bangkok 2019 speaker profile and Seed Webs’ company history. I met Menn and sought his advice during the event. His iCreator session, Web Optimize 4.0 For Mobile, brought a website perspective into the programme. For me, that adds a practical dimension to content: the experience people have when they reach the place where it is published.

M — Khajorn Chiaranaipanich, also known as Khajochi — founded MacThai and The Zero Publishing, whose publications included MangoZero and RAiNMaker. These roles are recorded in his 2019 speaker biography. I also talked with M and sought his advice. At iCreator, he joined a discussion about the next stage of online media, adding the perspective of someone building publications as well as producing content.

Bringing storytelling, publishing and technology together

The programme included Media, Creative and Geek tracks, alongside iCreator Clinic, a space for conversations and advice from creators. These formats and session topics are documented in RAiNMaker’s event recap. They describe the wider event; the conversations I had are part of my own experience of attending.

Looking back, I value the chance to meet practitioners with such different approaches. The Wongnai duo offered an example of recognisable character; Mint represented a personal storytelling perspective; Menn worked on the web as a publishing environment; and M connected content with building media. Together, these encounters form part of my continuing exploration of communication, marketing and technology.

The stage photograph records the identity and atmosphere of the event. The photographs taken together preserve the personal encounters that made the day meaningful.