Full Transcript for Episode 17: The Free Comic Con App You Can't Skip (ConVibe)

people'd be like, what is it? You're like, it's Stuff to keep you awake. British Liz: that's funny. KENT: Don't even add water, just drink the syrup. Niko Paleologus: Yeah, no no, that's what I'm saying. That's what we were doing. Yeah, just shots of the syrup. but I will say like w again, with Yeah that would have been British Liz: Like you could have boost boost popsicles would be great. Niko Paleologus: great. What a great idea. KENT: Now you're giving them ideas. No British Liz: Hey Niko Paleologus: It's true. KENT: sponsorship by Boost here, but hey Boost. You're out there. Nico British Liz: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: Exactly. KENT: Nico needs some popsicles. British Liz: Ha ha Niko Paleologus: He yes indeed. KENT: my goodness. British Liz: Well, Nico, I'm I'm understanding that you met Kent a few weeks ago at a con. Would that have been San Diego? KENT: Well, Liz, here, let me let me Niko Paleologus: It was. KENT: give a little introduction to our our British Liz: Okay. Yeah, okay, okay. KENT: guest Nico instead of you just well, so I heard you make it You know, he's a British Liz: calm down. KENT: as a lifelong movie and pop culture fan, Nico has always loved the experiences that come from meeting people behind the movies, the shows, the characters and the stories. And that means something to us, you know. That I we all love doing that after attending conventions himself. He became increasingly frustrated, which I think a lot of us do, by how scattered conventions and celebrity appearance information could be. You can't find it, you don't know where it is, and so he eventually built the solution we wished existed. And that's why we have Nico on here. So I'm super excited to have him on here. Now, Liz, British Liz: Yes, welcome. KENT: Liz, Liz. We're we're teaching Liz how to do, interviews and stuff like that. She just jumps right in. She's like, All right, let's Niko Paleologus: No, I love it. All good man. And what an intro, by the way, Ken. thank you. I greatly appreciate that. KENT: Thank you. you we met at San Diego Comic Con. he was in line. his wife was in line to get some autographs from Jin Yu and Abby. And he had this hat on, and I was like, What is con vibe? And then all of a sudden we we had this long conversation. I'm like, You definitely need to be on our podcast because our whole podcast is about making sure fans have a great experience. can find things, know things, you know, meet the celebrities, no meet the vendors and things like that. And I was like, my gosh, he's got like the holy grail. So yeah, Liz. British Liz: And there's the whole having found out all the information, there's the you inputting and recording your own experience, which then organizes your your con travels. And, you know, where did I get that autograph? yeah, Fan Expo Chicago. And here's the Niko Paleologus: Exactly. British Liz: and here's the picture to prove it, you know. I I love KENT: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: A hundred percent. British Liz: I love that part of it. Niko Paleologus: I hate I I think it is so irritating when, you're talking with friends and let's say it's months after a convention and somebody says, hey, you know, went to to you know, a convention in Missouri and somebody's like, yeah, yeah, I met Billy Zane. what was that like? And you're like, I'll show you a picture. And then you have to scroll for like an hour and a half to find the photo and you can't like you know, there's there's images in your phone depending on your your s software. That will basically allow you to do a word search. And you can't search Billy Zane, because unless you you had the poster with that wording in the back, your phone's not gonna know who Billy Zane is. so it's just super fun that you now have a place that you can keep track of all your convention British Liz: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: experiences and at the same time look for more. we British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: actually got a comment yesterday on one of our Facebook posts, and it was the comment that I invented this thing for. It was a guy who said, man. I just found a whole bunch of new cons in Dallas. I had no idea these things were even there. And I'm like, that's it. That's what I wanted you to do. British Liz: Excellent. and Dallas has tons. Niko Paleologus: Yes. A whole bunch. KENT: Yeah, I actually just an hour ago I was at the barber shop. The guy was cutting my hair, he's asking me what I was doing and thank you. Nice dapper. It always looks so I mean I Niko Paleologus: I was wondering why it looks so nice, man. British Liz: It always looks the same. It it always looks the same. KENT: mean we Nico and I have a similar hairstyle. His hair is just a little bit more longer than Niko Paleologus: True. It's just a little higher. I was debating British Liz: No Niko Paleologus: on wearing a hat British Liz: I was gonna Niko Paleologus: today and I was like, nah, I don't know. I shouldn't do that. British Liz: No, you you have slightly more raised hair, so it looks cooler. I'm just sorry, it's just cooler. KENT: It looked distinguished. But I was at the comic I was at the barber shop and this gentleman asked what I did and stuff and he goes, are there any Comic Cons in Nashville? And I was like, my gosh, there's several. And I British Liz: Ha ha KENT: was like, You need to download this app, Niko Paleologus: Yeah. KENT: con vibe, and it'll tell you exactly which Comic Cons are in Nashville. It'll tell you when they are, who's gonna be there. And he goes, my gosh, that's awesome. I gotta check that out. So you might have a new subscriber. British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: Wow, that's awesome. Well thank you, I appreciate it. Spreading the good word. British Liz: And and you know it you can you can search by by city, state, but you can also search by the actor you're interested in meeting. So I went through I've favorit favorited a whole bunch of my Lord of the Rings people, my K pop demon KENT: my goodness. British Liz: hunters

people, all of that. And Niko Paleologus: Liz, I can make your life so much easier too. If British Liz: Can you? Niko Paleologus: you go there and you're you are absolutely welcome to favorite the celebrities themselves, but in the section where you would favorite a celeb, there's also a a thing you can tap on for media, and media will allow you to favorite a movie or a TV show your your choice and you'll get notifications for everybody that joins. What that's really fun for is if you're like completing a piece and you maybe have British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: like a whole bunch that you want to get. signatures of versus one or two. it's great to follow, you know, your your favorite show or movie to find out where those individuals are are gonna make a a con appearance. British Liz: Well, th that's great. obviously I'm still learning it, but it's just Niko Paleologus: Yeah, no worries. British Liz: been it's been terrific. I Niko Paleologus: Thank you. British Liz: I just put some put some of my pictures in today. So now I Niko Paleologus: Nice. British Liz: now I will remember Fan Expo Chicago. KENT: And and you know what? I was just at a Comic Con and I was like, my gosh, I should have taken some pictures and used and put in there because I could have been like, here's where I took a picture with Cheech and Chong, or here's where I was with Sean Gunn, British Liz: Mm-hmm. KENT: So duh. That's all right. British Liz: But and and like you said, being able to find those pictures in an instant, because right now I've got I've created albums on my phone. And there's like two or three years, Niko Paleologus: Sure. We all have. British Liz: yeah, two or three years of say, fan expo data, something like that. And so I have to remember, well, first I gotta find it, then I gotta remember which year it was, and then I have to scroll and it's just takes forever. But I think this is gonna be a great tool. KENT: So Nico. Niko Paleologus: I I yeah. KENT: Yeah, yeah. No, I didn't mean to interrupt you. just w wanting to know what made you realize there was a a need for something like ConVive. Niko Paleologus: Yeah, absolutely. so I ironically it was Billy Zane, if you can believe it. so what what ended up happening was I managed to get the three skulls of Tuganda from the movie The Phantom and they're like life size replicas and they light up and they're so cool. I I got them signed by James Ramar and Christy Swanson. And I was I was missing Billy. And so I was trying to find out where the next con would be that Billy was going to go to. And no joke, it it took maybe a half hour for me to like follow his social media and everywhere else. And I was like, this is this is dumb. Like there has to be a better way. And I started talking to you know, some friends about it, and I started having these ideas. And then there was one friend, my friend Ashley in particular, who I wouldn't expect to follow conventions. She's not really going to these things regularly. And she said, my gosh, did you see about the Smallville convention? And I was like, No, I don't what? And she's like, Yeah, it's the real thing. British Liz: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: And she like explained to me over the phone that there was this big Smallville convention. She was so disappointed she didn't get to go to it. And that's when I realized, this is definitely something that more people than just convention people will enjoy, like meeting their heroes and and whatnot. And so that's that was the the impetus to get this sort of ball rolling. KENT: That's a reason. British Liz: So because it took you half an hour to find the basic information about Billy Zane in that one case, how much time is it taking you? The research must be enormous. Do you have a team? Niko Paleologus: It is a lot. yeah. it's it it's definitely a lot. there has been an immense amount of you know development on on RN to try to keep up with all of the new conventions and and the new appearances and so on and so forth. Which has been fun. but it it's certainly British Liz: Cancellations. Niko Paleologus: been a a lot of work. before we even built anything remotely resembling a UI. we had a massive data set to to comb through and organize and so on and so forth. And so we've been working through the the data set. We're still reshaping it and adding in new conventions. I think right now we're up to a little over 1500. We might be at 1600 conventions total that are effectively in the app. And then we're KENT: And this is why there's four to five conventions every weekend. Plus. Yeah. Niko Paleologus: Yep. And there's gonna be even more because British Liz: Plus plus. Yeah. Niko Paleologus: we're we're we're gonna get we we are worldwide, but we're only in about forty countries in terms of monitoring conventions from those countries. That's going to get much, much larger. we did that for a reason because the just the amount of data, it was easier to be like, okay, these and then slowly expanding out. So yeah, we're we're we'll be importing a whole bunch more into the app soon for for that size. And then The other thing that's gonna come about is we already have book conventions, card conventions, car conventions, food conventions, sports conventions, all the types of stuff, all these things that different people are you know would love to explore and and find are gonna be a part of of this. So we're we're the plans are already there. We're we're rolling through those data sets every day. and so you're gonna start to see more and more pop out, which is fun. British Liz: Now, do you have a team then? Niko Paleologus: Ha sort of. Me, British Liz: Or is it you, you, yourself and you? Niko Paleologus: myself, and I no, I actually I have a wonderful I have a wonderful developer, Angel, he's a great guy, introduced from a friend of mine who is just a a whiz in this space. And so he is as I like to describe my my waz, my Steve Waziac, to help me bring this to to life. And aside from

that, I do have a partner, Sheehan, who'll be coming on board shortly. He's been with me in the background through all of this. And then of course the lovely support of my wife. KENT: Yeah, and she will go to all the Comic Cons to get all the autographs and all the celebrities British Liz: Yeah. KENT: 'cause she I met her. She is amazing, lovely, and yeah, she likes her autographs. Niko Paleologus: True. She's super sweet. I will p I I will take credit though for her liking the autographs 'cause that was not in her Rolodex for the a while when I met her and now she's like, We should get that person. I'm like, Yes we should British Liz: Ha ha. Niko Paleologus: We need that for the collection. I was like, Yeah. British Liz: Ha ha. KENT: As you can see his collection behind him, Liz, he collects a lot of yeah, British Liz: the guitars. KENT: he's got a lot of guitars and he's got some signed pictures, he's got some records over there. Yeah. Niko Paleologus: I I'd love to tell you I play. I do not play at all. They're all movie and TV show related guitars. KENT: Yeah. Now I know you had just you when we talked in San Diego, it was on Apple, the iOS, and then of course I was like, I have to wait because I'm a droid guy. So I had to wait. So it came. I mean, what is the process? I mean, I know everybody pushes to Apple first and then droid because of the stipulations, but like, what is the process on doing something like that? And you know, I Niko Paleologus: It it's it's a lot. I actually had no idea walking into this what to expect. I I knew that I this is what I wanted to create and I had a a lot of research that I did in the market, but none of it prepares you for actually going through the the physical process. Once you have effectively the the outline of the app and you're really moving farther into the UI experience, you then begin to upload that into what's called Apple Connect. It's their system that, goes through beta testing. beta testing is interesting. it's not necessarily the easiest thing to get people to join up with the beta testing. And I don't mean that from like I g you know finding people. I mean that from the standpoint of every time you make a change or an update, it's a new beta release that takes days KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: to basically come out to then get pushed to your friends and family's, devices. so, you know, it was it it was interesting and a long process. And then once you get through, there's a review process that you have to go through. and that can take anywhere from 24 hours all the way up to a week. and if they do have any issues, you have to answer those questions and make sure that, you know, you're not doing anything nefarious or things like that. And so Apple was definitely on on the list of being first with this to make sure that we were able to get you know everything through. And then once that happened, we could basically just sort of copy that code, mirror image it over to the the Google side of things and then go that route. So that was, you know, kind of the the length of the process. But I would say we were we were live on Apple, but not the version that everybody sees today. But we were live on Apple by KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: the very end of June, beginning of July. And then it took until I don't know, about a week ago to be fully live on both platforms. British Liz: so it's brand new. okay. I thought I I thought you'd been around for a while. I I'm congratulations on the launch. Niko Paleologus: yeah, yeah, yeah. We're we're we're officially No, no, we are KENT: Hey and welcome to reality, Liz. I'm just scary. Niko Paleologus: Thank you. Thank you. no, we we we officially launched a week ago what's today? Tuesday, a week ago today. so that was very, very exciting to go through and you know, start putting out social media posts and so on and so forth. British Liz: That's wonderful. KENT: Kind like how you launch Niko Paleologus: Thank you. KENT: a podcast, Liz. You just put it out there and then people will come to it. huh. British Liz: Ha ha. Niko Paleologus: Speaking of though, your podcast has been absolutely phenomenal. I absolutely love the content that you both have been creating. It's very fun and funny. You guys are doing a great job. British Liz: thank you so much. KENT: Well, one of the things your app could have is Comic Con related podcasts, you know. hey. There Niko Paleologus: E I like it. British Liz: Ha ha. KENT: you go. So Niko Paleologus: No, I think that's a great s that's a great segment that we're missing. KENT: There you go. There you go. Well, British Liz: Yeah. KENT: I I and so you and I had this conversation. We talked a lot, but your personal experiences meeting celebrities at conventions. you know, why are those interactions mean so much to you or to the fans? Niko Paleologus: Yeah. so it to me I I've I've always and I I've stated this b before in in the internet ether, but I've I've always hated the expression that you shouldn't meet your your heroes. I think you should. I think everybody deserves the ability to be told like, Hey, thank you so much for creating something that is gonna outlive all of us. you know, whatever that project or that role or whatever it was means something to, you know, me or to you. And I think that that's important to to share. Conventions as a whole connect people. I love being a part and helping with making sure that more and more people are connected in the world of everything digital, and yes, I'm aware that I've created a digital app. just so we're all clear, yeah, I I know the irony of what I'm about to say. But I love that the app helps connect more and more people together. And again, there's gonna be a ton more features that are gonna roll out soon that are gonna bring that to to a really wonderful head. But it's important that people get connected. The energy that you experience going into a convention. I mean, you both work them, which by the way, you're

you're doing the Lord's work, man. I mean, that's amazing the the stuff that you guys British Liz: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: deal with and and KENT: That's you, my child. Niko Paleologus: and help. Perfect. but I think that that's in that's important and I think we need more of that. and so for me it was always just about the love of going to somebody who is an incredible actor or actress and saying, Thank you so much for creating something so wonderful. This this means a ton to to me and to be able to say thank you also is amazing. KENT: Yeah, exactly. British Liz: And I I know the the phrase never meet your heroes or whatever, you know, it it implies because they have feet of clay, they might not be a nice person, you know. And that's that's true of so few, so few. These these guys, everybody we meet, wonderful people, absolutely fantastic and humble and excited about what they do, excited to meet the fans. I mean, one in Five hundred might be, in a bad mood. KENT: Liz is the one. British Liz: Yeah, it's just one. Niko Paleologus: Yeah. British Liz: And but for the most part, the people we work with are absolutely delightful. And so why not meet them? Meet KENT: That's right. British Liz: them and ex Niko Paleologus: Hundred percent. British Liz: express your appreciation and let them know, you know, they've made a difference in somebody's life. I mean, why would you not want to hear that? KENT: So yeah. Yeah, Niko Paleologus: Yeah, absolutely. KENT: exactly. So with con vibe, it's you can download it today and you can follow your favorite celebrity. You can follow different Comic Cons. Nico just said you can follow different movies and the actors that are in those movies, which is great because you know, a lot of people will watch a movie and they don't know all the actors or actresses, but They might all show up at a Comic Con and you're like, my gosh, I wanna get, all the people from Warehouse thirteen or w Serenity Firefly and and stuff, and you're like, my gosh, and they're at this one Comic Con. Yeah. British Liz: Well for me it'd be Avatar the Last Airbender because a million voice actors have had bit parts on that show because it's KENT: Yeah. Yeah. British Liz: an it's a journey in quest show. So they'll be in one episode, but KENT: Yeah, but with his app. Yeah. British Liz: it's great because you can find them all. KENT: Yeah, and in there you have all the people. And so what I like, Nico, is when you meet them, you can check them off. So then you can say, I got that autograph or I got that picture. You know, and so if you're getting somebody like the last airbender, like Liz said, there's so many actors and actresses. And I know I've gotten some autographs and I'm like, Do I have this one or do I not? And then I'm sitting there like, do I need to get it again? Cause they're right in front of me. With this app, you can literally organize everything so that you don't have to get duplicates and triplicates or and and and you're finding the

right people to get on a specific print that you have. Niko Paleologus: Yeah, we we we gamified it. So there's there's a a whole section in your profile of trophies. And your trophies are obviously your your selfies, your photos, or your autographs that you've gotten with those particular celebrities. My KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: favorite feature about this whole thing is if you take a photo or you know, you have somebody's autograph, I'll I'll use William Shatner for example. You go and you meet Shatner and you get the the the photo of you two together and you you know, take that. What's really fun is in the app right away when you check the box it says, do you want to add a photo? And you can say yes, and then you can take it or you can add one from your library, whichever you choose. But then not only does it appear in your con pics, in your your trophies, but if you go to Shatner's page on the app, your photos there. So even if you look up the actor, your experiences with that actor is on there, which is super fun. That's one of my favorite things that we incorporated was like British Liz: Have to find that. Niko Paleologus: the 'cause you're checking it so it has the okay, you did it with this person and so we've added that section on there. So let's say you love meeting a particular actor, you can go and meet them multiple times and now you'll see all the photos. So you don't even have to organize it by the convention. You can go straight to that actor's page and see all the photos of you with them. KENT: Yeah. And and British Liz: That's awesome. KENT: and by checking in or or making the check marks in the app, you can also see when you last saw them. So, you know, like I was just talking with Sean Gunn, and we did a photo, a revision photo of us British Liz: Very nice. KENT: together. My my cousin. Well everybody when I work Niko Paleologus: Such a great photo. I love it. KENT: with Sean, they're always like, British Liz: Cousin, brother. KENT: Are you guys related? And so Sean Niko Paleologus: Yeah. KENT: is my cousin. Okay. Sean's my cousin, British Liz: Ha ha. KENT: but I was like, when wasn't the last time I took a photo with Sean? And it was a year and a half ago. So I was like, we need to do an updated one. So we took that and I was like, this would be great for that. Because I could be like, hey, Sean, last time we, you know, did a photo together was a year and a half ago. Like, so this app, I mean, that's why I I'm really enjoying it. We will promote it, we will, you know, help British Liz: Absolutely. KENT: out. Cause again, there are apps that the convention does, but they don't share all the stuff or they're missing stuff. And I I like that your app can pull all this into yours into one place, which makes it really good. British Liz: No, I am I am c you're welcome. Niko Paleologus: Thank you. Thank you both so much. I appreciate it. KENT: Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, Liz. British Liz: no I I'm curious since I only played with the

uploading my photos, can I do that retroactively? Like for something that was last year? KENT: Nico is shaking his head yes, if you're a listener. My our one subscriber that's listening, he's shaking his head and down. Up and down. Yes. Niko Paleologus: it's not true. I've seen British Liz: So so Niko Paleologus: I've seen it I've seen more than one. British Liz: good. So like Niko Paleologus: No British Liz: so if I went to you know megacon a year and a half ago. Not? Not not Niko Paleologus: So British Liz: that far back maybe? Niko Paleologus: N not not yet. KENT: Means it's in the works. Niko Paleologus: W here's the problem. British Liz: Ha ha ha. Niko Paleologus: all of the the sites, right, that utilize, you know, like Fan Expo Dallas or or whatever, they wipe the you know, the the the guests and whatnot from those conventions. So once you go back into that site, like in twenty twenty four, it takes a deeper dive British Liz: It it updates. Niko Paleologus: to figure out exactly who was there. It's not impossible, but it's a thing. I can incorporate that and some of those events are already incorporated. Just not all of them. British Liz: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: I had to make basically a decision. is it does it make more sense to look at the future of what's happening from this point moving forward, or does KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: it make more sense to collectively go back, to nineteen eighty or whatever, and look at every convention from that point? Right this second, I was more focused on what's coming out than I was in the past. and so British Liz: Absolutely. Absolutely. KENT: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: will you be able to? Yeah, this is better than Fair Shot. You'll be able to go back and and add photos and whatnot. But it'll also depend on you know, honestly what the users wanna do with the app and if we find that a lot of users are exactly as you said, Liz, like, Hey, we really wanna go back in and organize more of our stuff, cool. Then I know exactly what path to take. If there's users that are like, Yeah, we don't really care, then we'll see what happens. KENT: Yeah. I mean British Liz: Yeah. Yeah, that was pu purely selfish on my part. Yes. Niko Paleologus: This no no and and but I love that. And I will say this year specifically, you can retroactively go back to cons from this year and add in your your stuff. for sure. Just you know, if you were going to say twenty twenty three, twenty twenty two, you'll find them kind of scattered. KENT: Now Liz, was it just like photos from the whole Comic Con or was it photos of you with the celebrity? British Liz: Yeah, the the autographs I collected at Rebel Scum or something like that. KENT: Well, I mean, obviously you can upload the photos of the celebrity you took to the celebrity. It just wouldn't be MegaCon or, Dragon Con. It would just be you met Orlando Bloom British Liz: gotcha. KENT: and here's the picture with Orlando Bloom under his picture. So it'd be British Liz: Right. KENT: organized by the celebrity versus somebody that British Liz: Yeah. Okay. KENT: wants to upload all their pictures that they took at MegaCon or Connecticon. Yeah. British Liz: yeah, not not just kind of cosplay and and panel what though you do have a section for panels, don't you? KENT: See, I'm gonna throw out something, Nico, and Liz just brought it up, cosplayers. That's another one you're Niko Paleologus: Yeah. KENT: gonna have to add in there because people follow the cosplayers and some of have millions of followers. British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: Yes, they do. So you will find if you go into the the the guests section where you can search a celebrity, you will find that you can search a whole bunch of cosplayers currently. but the database for those is not as I don't have all of them just yet. KENT: Yeah, Niko Paleologus: so we'll we'll we'll do more promotion around that. cosplayers are are massive and there's KENT: Yes, I are. Well, if they're listening right now, they will want to reach out to you so they can be added to the database. So cosplayers, I am I am fighting British Liz: Yes. With Niko Paleologus: Absolutely. KENT: for you so that you can get onto this app and be known more because people will search for cosplayers and there will be a category just for cosplayers. British Liz: W would that also go for content creators that have become celebrities in their own rights because of their Niko Paleologus: Hundred percent. So what what what's interesting is is the separation that needs to be made between like a a guest and KENT: Liz, you're not gonna be on the out. Niko Paleologus: an and a vendor. You will. Yeah, no no a hundred percent. A hundred percent. CWC is gonna have their own page. British Liz: I need a page. I need a page now. Yeah. KENT: You are not gonna be on the page, Liz. Liz is not a content creator. British Liz: Woohoo. a badge that says I am, so there you go. Niko Paleologus: There go. I love it. no, KENT: Yes. Niko Paleologus: so I right now there we're we are one of the other things that we are building are pages for cosplayers and then also pages for vendors. one of the biggest promotions British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: that I wanna use this platform for is to be able to help vendors get KENT: Yes. Niko Paleologus: much more widespread eyeballs on their products than normal. Here's the deal. You go to any convention and you're looking at somebody that sells shot glasses or t-shirts or something like that. The likelihood of you seeing them outside of the convention is slim to none. and even if they do another convention, unless you're also going to that, you wouldn't know. I want to make sure that more and more vendors are viewed. And so we we have that sort of built into the app. We just haven't deployed it yet. but that is within the next update or two. British Liz: my goodness, that's amazing. I I can never I can never find my friends who are vendors. I Niko Paleologus: Yeah. Yep. British Liz: run

across them. Like KENT: Well, one of the popular Niko Paleologus: Yeah, no, a hundred percent. KENT: ones that we both know is the legging lass. Thank you for British Liz: Yeah. KENT: letting me say that on there. she will love us forever. But no, legging lass, she's had a lot of cons and a lot of women and men go to get the stuff for their wives or kids or for themselves. And it would be nice to know, the legging lass is gonna be at these shows and I'm gonna be at that one so I know where she's at. And you know, that would help out a lot because a lot of people run around in circles. Are they here? Are they here? Are they here? And they can't find them. But British Liz: And KENT: if it's in a British Liz: and they may they may actually give booth numbers, you know, the I don't know what booth numbers are. I mean they're just kind of random numbers. So yeah, knowing that somebody's there. I mean I've got artist friends, author friends that go to them. I don't know which ones they go to. And it's kind of, hey, you're here, that's great. I'd love to know. Niko Paleologus: Exactly. And and I I No, absolutely. And and I've spoken with a a a bunch of of different vendors, especially a few friends that I have, to really fixate on the ideas of what's important and what they care about and and so on and so forth. But yeah, no, I I love the fact of being able to give back to the community and make sure that, you know, just more and more people are able to to to f find things that they're they're looking for. Actually one one quick note. do you guys remember encyclopedias? KENT: What are those? I'm just kidding. Yes, yes, yes. Niko Paleologus: Exactly. Exact no, but seriously, like I I'm glad that I'm the same age as you guys. I I i encyclopedias, man, British Liz: Ha ha. Niko Paleologus: you it used to be cool. You used to, you know, crack open the A and be like, what is an Ardvark? And you could look at something that you never saw before. You can't discover much anymore today. Everything you have to know what you're looking for. You go into the internet and you're like, cool, I need to search for whatever that might be. KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: That kinda sucks because it takes the fun and the joy of discovering something new. Do you remember the first time you discovered an artist, like like a a musical artist, and they came across your your earwaves and you were like, this is dope. And you wanted to share it with everybody. That's what I want, ConVibe to be able to do. And so the concept is, yes, you can go in and you can look at categories for anime, horror, you know, things of that nature, specialty conventions like tattoos and wrestling and whatnot, to find conventions in your area. same thing is gonna be said for for for vendors. You're gonna be able to find, you know, stuff based on on what you like. So yeah. KENT: Awesome. British Liz: Well it's it's funny, I was thinking about in in terms of potential volunteers. I mean that's how we started. We were volunteers. Now personally I know nothing about wrestling, but I like volunteering. So maybe there's a wrestling con in St. Louis I could I could volunteer at. So because you have all kinds, it's not KENT: Are you gonna be a wrestler? British Liz: no. Niko Paleologus: What would your name be? KENT: WrestleMania British Liz Fake British Liz British Liz: Big big big British Liz Big British Liz, that's me. KENT: Bake those cakes. British Liz: But you know, my my interest isn't in the subject, it's in the volunteering and meeting the public and helping, that kind of thing. So I think what you're offering would be a terrific resource for potential volunteers in that they can find out what's going on in their town. which is not necessarily in their they don't know that it's within their interest wheelhouse, I suppose. yeah, so I think it would be very helpful. Niko Paleologus: think you're you're you're spot on. and and Kent, you and I had a a conversation at one point about, KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: you know, ways for this to be able to assist handlers and and so on and so forth of getting more more work and and I think that that's just a terrific I idea for this. I I think you know i anytime you look at these apps like Instagram, Facebook, any any big app, they they end up turning into things that they weren't originally designed for. KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: or it evolved in some way. And so I I view Convive as the same. It's going to evolve and and go to, you know, what people are really gonna gravitate to. KENT: Exactly. in like British Liz: Yeah, I mean I what kind of Sorry? KENT: No, go ahead, Liz. British Liz: What kind what what kind of feedback are you getting? Are you getting a lot of interest already? I imagine. Niko Paleologus: Yeah, so far it's it's it's been actually really positive. you know, the the Facebook responses, the Instagram, the social media stuff has been really cool. we have some some really great, you know, merch and stuff that I've been given out. Don't worry. I'm gonna send you guys a a nice care package. Absolutely. Who doesn't like merch? British Liz: I need merch. I do need merch. Niko Paleologus: but no, I'll send you guys some cool stuff. but i the the feedback has been do we just lose Kent? British Liz: I think for a moment he'll be back, I'm sure. Niko Paleologus: Okay. I was like, my gosh, did I say something? British Liz: yeah. It's 'cause he you said you were gonna send me merch, so he's all jealous and got all huffy. Niko Paleologus: I that's fair. but no, I it you know, the the response has been really, really great so far. I've gotten a bunch of people saying, you know, we needed something like this. This is so exciting. I can't wait to use it at the next con. And so all of those comments are are terrific, but we've also gotten some great comments when it comes to actual feedback, things like, Hey, you should think about doing this, or hey, why doesn't this work? All of that is

great because all of it is stuff that I can then work on and and tinker with and make sure that, it's it's ready for the next thing. we also can make updates to things very quickly. So for instance, if it's something that is data driven, so you're talking about a convention and so and so, they're they're not gonna be there. they they canceled, you still have them coming. Cool. There's a button on the app. in just about every page. It's a little pink button on the bottom left with a plus sign. Tap British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: that and then type in, hey, so and so at, this convention isn't gonna be there. That not only comes directly to me, but it gets handled in a matter of minutes. So we can fix all of that stuff, especially for the data. We don't need a separate update for, the the iPhone or the the Android to make those things British Liz: that's wonderful. Niko Paleologus: happen, which is terrific. So I love that because it makes things much faster. If you need like Something that's gonna be a UI piece where we're gonna have to build something. Yeah, it's gonna take a minute. Ken, we lost British Liz: Yes. Yes, 'cause I know k Niko Paleologus: you. KENT: It's technology and that happens so that's why I let Liz just hey, Liz British Liz: Yeah. 'Cause 'cause Niko Paleologus: No, no worries. Making sure you're okay. KENT: can talk all day. I'll just that's why I let if I fall off, I just let her do it and see what see look at this. That she's doing the my goodness. If you're British Liz: Yeah. KENT: watching this video, our subscriber, this is why I call her fake British Liz. British Liz: Yes, yes, yes. Anyway, Nico yes. Niko Paleologus: Liz, I do have to ask a a question though. Are you a great British baker? British Liz: At Christmas I'm an incredible Niko Paleologus: Okay. British Liz: baker, the rest of the year I can't even make dinner. Niko Paleologus: Understood. Understood. KENT: She drinks generic tea, really, Baker, come. Niko Paleologus: It's fair. I mean, what are you gonna do? KENT: Wow. British Liz: Well, I was gonna say about the the little flag that you have at the bottom of those pages. You know, Kent found that little piece that was not quite on not quite correct. And you had it turned around. Niko Paleologus: Yeah, I think it was was it Ming Chen? British Liz: Yeah, and but you had it turned around in minutes. I mean, that's great to be able to give feedback and say, you know, this this might not be quite right and you can zip this done. It's wonderful. So it's very almost real time. Everything is absolutely up to date. It's great. Niko Paleologus: Thank you. We we we strive for excellence here. British Liz: Yeah. Unlike cons with coffee that keeps losing its host, right? Niko Paleologus: it's all good. It's the nature of of tech. Trust me, there's a at some point just the n world we live in, there's a gonna be a bug that needs to be fixed immediately and so on. So I get it. British Liz: Yes. Well I was gonna ask you, Nico, what Niko Paleologus: Yeah, ask away, I'm an open book. British Liz: what what would your big fandoms be? What are you excited about? Niko Paleologus: My big phantoms, yeah. I I'm a huge eighties comedy person. I I have a hard time with a lot of movies and T V shows that ha have come out. A actually tw twenty twenty six has been an an odd year and I mean that in a in the best way possible. Twenty twenty six has released some incredible movies that I'm so excited about. the Most recent one I happen to catch was Project Hail Mary, which was awesome. Such a wonderful film. Ryan Gosling did terrific British Liz: that was so great. KENT: Mm-hmm. Niko Paleologus: in that. and so one of the reasons that I love the the eighties so much and and early nineties, just the nineties as a whole, is because the movies just have so much heart and i th but let's be real, a bunch of them aren't very good. But it doesn't matter. It's just fun. It's just good fun to watch, you know. one crazy summer real genius or whatever. Yeah, they're great. And so I miss those. I miss that type of stuff. And also my wife just is a wonderful human being and lets me be like, We haven't seen this one, you should watch it. so I get to show her all of these. So those are really my my big fandoms. but I will say for anybody listening, Psyche, if you've never seen the T V show Psych, please watch it. It's absolutely stupendous. It's a wonderful T V show. British Liz: It is wonderful. We just watched the episode a couple of nights ago, American Duos that had Tim Tim Tim Curry was in it. We watched it Niko Paleologus: I love Tim Carey. rest in peace, buddy. British Liz: in in Memoriam and just wonderful. And then speaking of eighties, my goodness, the eighties cameos they had on that show. Like felt like it had most of the Breakfast Club at one point or another. And Niko Paleologus: Everybody except Emilio Esteves, which is British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: Emilio Esteves is mentioned maybe in three different episodes where Sean uses him as like an alias. I think at British Liz: Also Niko Paleologus: one episode he's playing football for like a minor league football team and they're British Liz: Yes. Niko Paleologus: like, What's your name? And he goes, Emilio Esteves Esteves And he like, you mean British Liz: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: like that actor guy? He was like, No, I think you're thinking of Charlie Sheen. And like it's just such a great moment. but yeah. He's the only one that didn't do an episode. Everybody else did. British Liz: Yes, yeah, a wonderfully wonderfully crazy show. Did you ever see Psych Ken? KENT: Well I have not. it's on my list of twenty, thirty other shows to watch, so it it it will be Niko Paleologus: Bump it up to the top. KENT: bumped up a little bit higher. So yes, yes. But I hate to be the spoiler and let you know that we are at our time. Nico, it was a pleasure talking with you. British Liz: It really was KENT: If you have not heard about this app, it's called Con Vib. You can find it on Instagram, on ConVive app. You can find it on TikTok under ConVib. And you can also go to the website, Convibe.com, check it out. You can go to the Google store, Apple Store, and download it. Check it out. Subscribe. And guess what, everybody? You know why I like this one? Cause it's free. British Liz: Yay KENT: Yep, it's free because Nico knows there's so many apps out there that cost money. He was like, I I just wanted to create something that's free, something that people can use and stuff like that. So go download it, use it, abuse it, test it out, help Nico out, make this thing amazing like we are. thank you, Nico, for creating this. we will promote it and share it with everybody that we meet. British Liz: Absolutely, yeah. KENT: We will get some podcasts on your app too. Niko Paleologus: That's aw I love it. That's a great idea. and thank you both KENT: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: so much for for having me. I really, really appreciate it. It's been a ton of fun. happy to come back and chat movies with you guys anytime. British Liz: Let's do KENT: Yeah, we'd love to have you back. British Liz: it. KENT: We'll see how the ratings go. No, I'm just kidding. British Liz: Yeah. Niko Paleologus: Fair. Understood. KENT: Awesome. Wow, Liz ran out of words. British Liz: No, I said thank you. I said thank you. KENT: Okay. All right, everybody. I hope you have an amazing day. If you haven't, please like, subscribe, follow us on social media. And this is Conversations with Coffee. I'm your host, Kent, with British Liz. We'll see you British Liz: And I'm British Liz. Yes. KENT: next time. Bye. British Liz: Bye.