What is a VSCO girl? That's what everyone wants to know. VSCO CEO and co-founder Joel Flory told Cheddar the topic "really shot up" this year as Google recently revealed the eponymous term was the second most popular "What is…" search of 2019.
There is no official definition, but a quick search seems to reveal a VSCO girl as a teen or tween who takes selfies of herself decked out in trendy gear (think oversized T-shirts and Hydro Flask water bottles). But according to Flory, to its users, the term means more.
"It's a young woman that you'll see in the Google search that is an 'activist'," said Flory. The company's new survey of more than 1,000 Gen Zer's ages 14 to 23 found that "activist" is a label many are happy to hold..
"They're proud and thankful about how social media helps them really label themselves and figure out who they are in their identity," he added.
But, according to VSCO's survey, while 46 percent of Gen Z take pride in being "activists," 37 percent feel they have to hide their political beliefs around family members during the holidays. "Coming into the holidays, they're really anxious to how their family views them and 45 percent say they feel judged by their family for their social media posts," Flory said.
He also discussed VSCO's acquisition of Rylo, the camera and video-editing app company. VSCO sold off the brand's hardware to Best Buy and will be focusing on ways to utilize the software.
"We were able to see an early prototype and beta version of their new consumer mobile app that actually helped people be more expressive with all these great video tools and loved it so much that we really wanted to bring it into the VSCO suite," Flory said regarding Rylo.
As smartphones continue to come with better camera and video editing features already built into the hardware, an app like VSCO is focused on how to leverage the technology smartphones already provide.
"I view it less as a competition and actually more as an accelerant, and so if we think about creativity, it used to just be for those who self-identified as creative. The advancement of the hardware of these devices is really making creativity a global language," Flory said.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
