VSCO’s Social Network-Like ‘Spaces’ Community is Now Open to All Users

VSCO is rolling out Spaces, its social network-like community feature, to all users starting today. The company positions Spaces as a new way to connect with other creators through shared galleries and visual conversations.

Originally launched in a limited capacity to VSCO paid members in late June, Spaces is available to all VSCO users starting this week.

VSCO says that Spaces is a way for creators to work together to around a particular theme.

“Creators can join a space to build a shared gallery around a particular theme, photography style, event, or location. To keep the creative juices flowing, contributors in a space can encourage each other to post with a regular cadence (e.g. photo-a-day challenge) or a particular theme (e.g. black and white photos or film photography only),” VSCO explains.

“It’s a great way to get un-stuck if you find yourself in a creative rut. You can ask for feedback on certain elements of a photo in your post description or in the post discussion. Photographers can use Spaces to build out a concept board to share with their clients prior to a shoot, or to share the results afterwards.”

Spaces can be created from the bottom navigation menu in the app that allows users to see the spaces they have joined and — for paid members — allows them to create new spaces.

VSCO provided two examples of some existing spaces to give an idea of what to expect. The first, called the “Visual Playlist Collective,” features a creator in the Space who shares a song and image to inspire the collective. The other creators then develop their own edits using that image as the foundation while listening to the song of the day. The second is called “On This Earth” and is focused on sharing landscapes with the hope to inspire the group to look up and engage with the world around them.

The company, which recently relaunched itself to refocus its efforts on what it calls “more serious” creators, says that the goal of Spaces is to foster meaningful discussion with a genuine focus on visual art without the “noise” that is often associated with other social networks.

“We wanted to recreate that same authentic, judgment-free experience by treating interactions in Spaces the same way. That’s why participation in discussions is limited to contributors only and the experience is focused around the image first, discussion second,” the company explains.

“It’s up to you whether you want to view and engage in the conversation. And remember, each space is what you make it. So, whether you want to use your space to share editing tips and tricks, or riff on a particular niche you’re passionate about — you set the tone.”