Latest news with #GenZ-led
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Why Marina Mogilko's 'Silicon Valley Girl' Podcast Is Exactly What the Innovation Economy Needs Right Now
Marina Mogilko In a media ecosystem oversaturated with founder bios and five-minute thought leadership clips, Marina Mogilko is opting for something else: depth. The entrepreneur and digital creator, best known for building a multi-million-dollar language platform and cultivating a massive YouTube presence, has announced the expansion of her flagship interview series, Silicon Valley Girl, as a weekly podcast, available on all major podcast platforms starting June 4th. But this isn't just a content pivot, it's a strategic expansion rooted in a broader trend: the demand for more honest, globally attuned conversations in tech and business. "The goal has always been to decode success," Mogilko says. "But more than that, I want to explore the human cost of growth, what people aren't saying on stages or in press releases." And in that mission lies the heart of Silicon Valley Girl 2.0. Mogilko's rise wasn't forged in the typical startup circuit. She moved to the U.S. from St. Petersburg, Russia, taught herself the intricacies of visa applications, and turned her experience into a business: LinguaTrip, an online education and study-abroad platform that now serves users across multiple continents. Her first traction came not from seed funding or accelerator buzz, but from YouTube, where her clarity, relatability, and transparent business breakdowns made her a standout in both the edtech and creator communities. Today, she has over 17 million followers across her digital channels and a reputation for demystifying complicated systems, whether it's immigration paperwork or venture term sheets. That hybrid expertise, part educator, part operator, part media strategist, is what makes her voice resonate in an era where audiences are increasingly skeptical of polished narratives and growth-at-all-costs messaging. The Silicon Valley Girl podcast debuts with a high-caliber lineup that spans industries and ideologies; Coco Rocha, on modeling, mentorship, and modern entrepreneurship, Reid Hoffman, discussing AI, ethics, and the future of intelligent systems, Jenny Lei, unpacking burnout and money culture in Gen Z-led startups, Blake Scholl, reflecting on aerospace innovation and the long runway to disruption. What Mogilko is building isn't just a guest-driven show, it's a platform where long-form dialogue is used to examine how innovation collides with identity, morality, and mental health. And that framing matters. While most business media continues to chase performance metrics and trend cycles, Silicon Valley Girl chooses a different metric: insight density. "Listeners want substance," Mogilko says. "They're tired of recycled headlines. They want to understand how leaders think, how they fail, how What Mogilko understands better than most is that her audience isn't just U.S.-based. Her influence spans Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India, regions increasingly producing the next generation of digital professionals, many of whom don't see themselves reflected in traditional media coverage of tech. This international credibility gives her a unique vantage point: a founder who's both inside and outside Silicon Valley's core, translating industry-speak into something more grounded, and more globally relevant. Her growing focus on angel investing, especially in women- and immigrant-led startups, further signals her long-term commitment to the ecosystem she's documenting. In many ways, Silicon Valley Girl isn't just a show about innovation, it's a node in the network Mogilko continues to build, support, and invest in. Looking ahead, Mogilko hopes to expand the podcast's reach by featuring underrepresented founders, cross-border investors, and creatives who are monetizing influence without conforming to tech-industry norms. She's interested in what she calls "builders with a conscience", people making meaningful decisions, not just profitable ones. And in a media landscape still learning how to cover complexity, that's a differentiator. Where many business podcasts summarize ideas, Silicon Valley Girl interrogates them. It opens space for vulnerability, uncertainty, and nuance, traits often excluded from pitch decks but essential to the future of responsible innovation. Silicon Valley Girl will be available on major podcast platforms starting June 4th. New episodes will be released weekly. Learn more at or follow Marina Mogilko on YouTube .
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Madison alder wants viral panda suit video to counter flood of negative Supreme Court ads
A contested aldermanic race in the heart of downtown Madison got a boost in attention after the incumbent's ad featuring a panda suit went viral on social media over the weekend. The fictional panda voter gives an endorsement for Ald. Mike Verveer, who has served on Madison's Common Council since 1995. His district includes neighborhoods near the state Capitol square and Regent Street, areas saturated with college students. The panda talks about Verveer's efforts to build affordable housing, create public parks and bring Amtrak service to Madison. The panda's face even illuminates when he flicks a lighter, saying Verveer has fought to decriminalize marijuana. The ad, called "Pandamonium," was an idea among Verveer's campaign team to counter the flood of outside money and negative ads in the state Supreme Court race with some lighthearted humor. "If we had a traditional ad, this wouldn't be noticed. It wouldn't be a good investment," Verveer told the Journal Sentinel. Humor would "discourage people from hitting that omnipresent 'skip' button and maybe watch for the full 30 seconds." Where did they get a panda suit? A friend in Madison happened to have it in her closet, Verveer said. Two University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates played the part, switching out of the uncomfortable suit during a long day of filming in snowy, cold weather. Meta's ad library indicates the ad has been seen up to 7,000 times, mostly by voters between ages 18 and 34, since it started running Thursday. Verveer faces an opponent in the April 1 race — Eli Tsarovsky, a UW-Madison graduate student and community organizer. In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Tsarovsky said he respects Verveer and his record but argued voters are looking for new leadership. Verveer's campaign ad has made the rounds on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. It was initially tweeted by Andrew Arenge, director of operations at the University of Pennsylvania's Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies. "I'm kind of obsessed with a local politician in Wisconsin using a guy dressed in a panda costume to provide a testimonial in this political ad," Arenge wrote. Organizer Memes, a popular X account that posts political memes and trains left-leaning groups how to use memes, picked up on Verveer's ad. In a reply and retweet, the account said "game recognize game" and "I approve this message lol." Gen Z voters have long used memes to engage with or comment on politics. Last summer, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris became the subject of online memes about coconut trees and Charli XCX's "Brat" album. More: Inside 'Hotties for Harris,' the Gen Z-led DNC afterparty More: These influencers are helping the Republican National Convention reach the youth vote UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said hyperlocal campaigns typically don't make video ads because they're expensive. But editing software has become easier to use, and videos can be produced even with minimal campaign funds. "An ad that has some rough edges and lack of polish might actually attract more attention than others because it stands out from the slick videos produced for higher-level offices. A quirky video can get circulation on social media that is basically free," Burden told the Journal Sentinel by email. Organizer Memes agrees. Half the battle is getting noticed, the anonymous account told the Journal Sentinel in a direct message. If candidates reach the less political parts of the internet, they hit voters at the margins. "The low-budget, authentic, (kind of) absurdist vibe works well online. Stunts can be really hit or miss depending on how genuine, funny or cringe they are," Organizer Memes said. "Meme politics is effective when it breaks through the noise." Organizer Memes' profile photo is, coincidentally, also a panda — they needed to stay anonymous when asked to speak in-person at the North Carolina Young Democrats Convention. "I randomly had a panda head I stole from an ex-friend's little sister's bat mitzvah. The internet is truly random," they said. The ad's quirkiness reflects a broader theme of the race — Verveer's efforts to reach young voters as he faces a progressive challenger in Tsarovsky. "A longtime incumbent in downtown Madison is being challenged by a younger opponent who has connections to the UW-Madison student body," Burden said. "An irreverent ad is one way for Verveer to tout his work on the city council while also trying to demonstrate that he is in touch with youth culture." In 2023, Verveer faced another progressive opponent and UW-Madison student, Maxwell Laubenstein. Verveer won by a seven-point margin, but that only represents about 300 votes. It was the first time he faced an opponent since 1999. Tsarovsky said voters he's met while door-knocking see the panda ad as unserious and doesn't meet concerns students face, like the rising cost of living and uncertainty during the second Trump administration. Verveer noted he's done more serious, traditional communications like mailers and campaign literature. His district also includes many seniors, who are more likely to check what's in their mailbox. Digitial advertising, a first for Verveer, was a way of "reaching a cross section of all voters." One of the biggest issues affecting young voters in the district is affordable housing. Tsarovsky disagreed with Verveer's 2023 vote against zoning changes to a vacant parking lot downtown that would have increased the height of potential apartment developments. Verveer explained he voted no because he sponsored an earlier ordinance that allowed developers to exceed the city's height limit to preserve views of the Capitol — in exchange for guaranteeing affordable apartment units, a provision the 2023 proposal didn't include. "I didn't think we should sell out and concede at such an early stage," he said. Tsarovsky, who has a background in public health, has also focused his campaign on issues like PFAS contamination in Lake Monona, pedestrian safety and homelessness. "I respect my opponent and his work. I just think, after 30 years, it's time for new leadership and a serious approach to better connect with the concerns of the people downtown," he said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison alder Mike Verveer's panda suit campaign ad is going viral
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Preferring to live life offline, these young people are practicing 'appstinence'
Gabriela Nguyen was born and raised in Silicon Valley, the birthplace of social media. Her father was wary of his daughter living a plugged-in life and attempted to shield her from technology — but the pull of apps like Instagram and Snapchat was simply too strong. By the time she was in high school, Nguyen was 'chronically online.' That meant spending hours scrolling, checking in on what everyone around her was doing and taking an often too-critical eye to her own posts. Every time a new feature was introduced, such as Instagram Stories in 2016, Nguyen felt pressure to keep up. It was just what 'kids these days' did. Yet Nguyen had a gnawing sense that spending so much time on these apps was zapping her time and energy. By 14, she started to wonder: Could there be a life without social media? Leaving her online life behind wasn't a quick or easy process. In fact, it took almost a decade after that initial thought to call it quits. She wanted to be a part of the online world most of her friends were living in, even as creating 'different versions' of herself on an ever-expanding array of platforms was growing exhausting. But now, at 23, she has finally left social media for good — and plans never to return. Nguyen, a graduate student at Harvard, not only is off of apps, but also downgraded her phone from a smartphone to a dumb one. 'I have a lot of times during the day where I have no digital stimulus — I just kind of sit and think,' she says. Nguyen felt like she was holding on to 'the world's best secret' by living an unconnected life. 'I needed to give some kind of personification, some kind of life to this idea and ... share it with other people,' she explains. With that, 'appstinence' was born. Appstinence, a play on abstinence, means forgoing social media entirely and instead focusing on direct-line communication, such as phone calls and texts. She formalized the concept when she began studying education policy and later founded a Gen Z-led organization by the same name. Twice a month, the group meets to discuss how to reduce the impact of digital life on the real world. Nguyen even created a guide called the 5D method — which stands for decrease, deactivate, delete, downgrade and depart — to help other people mend their relationships with social media. According to 2024 data from the Harris Poll, about half of adult Gen Z social media users spend two to four hours a day on social media, while 60% spend at least four hours, and 22% spend seven or more hours daily. But like Nguyen, more members of Gen Z are realizing that it simply doesn't serve them. Judy Liu, a 25-year-old instructional designer in New York City, says she connected with Nguyen and the organization Appstinence last year through Fairplay's Screen Time Action Network, a group focused on reducing screen time and promoting healthier digital habits. Liu, who got her first smartphone at 10, began weaning herself off social media when she was 18: first by deleting Snapchat and then the following year Instagram. In 2022, she deleted her Facebook account. Liu loved social media. As a 'painfully shy' teen, she used things like friend requests and likes to replace interactions she wasn't comfortable having. But eventually, Liu says, her confidence took a hit: 'I paid attention to things like, 'Oh, what's my ratio between the number of people that I'm following and people that are following me?' And I was noticing that I was comparing myself to other people, whether that was in successes or in the way that my body looked,' she recalls. After several hours of scrolling, she'd experience heightened levels of anxiety. When she finally scaled back on social media — before deleting it entirely, save for LinkedIn for professional connections — she felt 'more at peace and more present.' 'It's not like social media is the source of all my problems, and now that I'm rid of them, my life is sunshine and rainbows all the time. ... It just gave me the opportunity to focus on what the actual problems are and give them the attention and the love that is necessary,' she says. 'Social media distracted me from them.' And younger members of Gen Z feel the same, such as 16-year-old high school junior Tommy Alfano of Dorset, Vt. He chose to follow the 5D method in January after connecting with Nguyen through his work with Vermont Phone-Free Schools Coalition. Alfano says that before going app-free, social media was his 'go-to' to 'decompress or just kill time.' When Meta introduced Reels, he found himself 'scrolling endlessly,' something that became a habit he 'couldn't shake' that was 'taking a toll' on his well-being. The biggest perk of going app-free? Being present, Alfano says, and no longer feeling stuck in the cycle of 'mindless scrolling' or like he has to 'keep up with everyone else's highlights reel.' While he did initially experience 'withdrawal,' now he connects with friends over 'real conversations instead of whatever is trending online.' He's now spending more time outdoors and even working in his free time with Snapchat on its Council for Digital Well-Being — a group of 18 teens who share their experiences to 'shape healthy online spaces.' 'I didn't realize how much time Reels took up until I had all this extra time to actually enjoy things,' Alfano says. There's a reason people like Nguyen, Liu and Alfano felt like social media was taking more than it was giving. The National Center for Health Research linked social media use among teens and young adults to rising levels of anxiety and depression. It may even make us more irritable, per research from January 2025. Meanwhile, a 2019 study found the more time we spend in digital spaces, the less happy we are overall. Other research saw that time on social media can lead to a negative body image and even eating disorders. 'It's important to remember that content doesn't have to be inherently negative to elicit negative emotions,' Maureen Coyle, an assistant professor of psychology at Widener University, tells Yahoo Life. 'For example, posts displaying lavish lifestyles and wealth or idealized physical appearances can evoke feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt.' Social media is also addictive. Psychologist Cameron Sepah, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life that this is due to 'dopaminergic loops of reinforcement.' This means that social media platforms are designed to trigger the release of dopamine, the brain's 'pleasure hormone,' making us feel good when we engage with content. 'Likes, comments and notifications are intermittent rewards, much like gambling,' he says. And continuous stimulation 'shortens attention span, raises anxiety levels and causes compulsive scrolling.' The first step to seeing if appstinence is for you is to assess how you feel after spending time online. 'Consider keeping a journal to track your emotions before, during and after using social media,' Coyle says. 'If you notice that your mood declines after spending time online, that's a strong indicator that your social media use may be harmful.' Reflecting on your 'motivation' for using social media is important. 'Are you using it to pass the time, learn something new, connect with others or to avoid someone or something? If your primary motivation is avoidance, that may be a red flag,' she says. If you find that you're not getting much benefit from spending time on social media, then Nguyen's 5D method offers a gradual approach to stepping away. If you want to follow the 5D plan, here are the steps Nguyen recommends taking to achieve a social-media-free life. Inform close friends and family about your decision to go offline and ask them to reach you via text or phone. Decrease use by removing social media apps from your phone and accessing them only via browser. Unfollow unnecessary accounts and disable notifications. Deactivate accounts one at a time, starting with the least-used. Deactivation lasts 30 days before automatic deletion. Don't be discouraged if you struggle: These apps are made to be addictive. Focus on real-world connections and self-care during the 30-day deactivation period. Repeat the process for all accounts until you are fully offline. Nguyen believes that appstinence is a better alternative to moderate use, due to the constant changes that social media apps are making to keep you coming back. But Sepah says that for most people, 'scaling down, rather than cold turkey, is a more realistic solution.' 'Cold turkey may be a possibility for extreme digital addiction, but controlled use — such as limiting time, unfollowing toxic accounts or scheduling 'phone-free hours' — may be as helpful in reducing harm,' he says. Here are some tips on how to scale back social media use: Set your phone down away from your bed at night (get a real alarm clock!) to stop nighttime scrolling that can disrupt your sleep. Disable push notifications that bring you back to an app and distract you during the day. Or, consider going on Do Not Disturb — you can set your phone to still get notifications from important contacts. Schedule social media breaks — label certain times of the day, like your mornings, phone-free. Set a 'no phone at the table' rule so you can eat meals without scrolling. Delete one social media app so you're checking your phone less frequently. Next time you go to DM a friend, shoot them a text instead — or, better yet, make it a phone call.
