Skimm It To Win It
When I graduated from college, one thing I really wanted to force myself to do was keep up with current events. But, real current events, not what's happening with the Kardashian-Jenners, mostly because I already know how they're doing and newsflash: it's great. What I told myself is that I wanted to be able to have enough knowledge to form my own opinions about our world's state of affairs. Really, I just want to be viewed as an adult by my co-workers. Starting a corporate office job straight out of college is daunting and when you report to a supervisor who has a daughter your age it's hard not to be self-conscious. I wanted to find a way to combat this without trying too hard because tbh I don't want to put too much thought into what other people think of me, also I have a life and stuff to do, you know? Enter theSkimm.
theSkimm is a free daily email that breaks down the latest news in a non-biased, conversational format. Imagine if your friend explained the Syrian crisis to you over coffee. Now imagine that same friend knew both sides of the story, along with the historical details, but could tell you about them in eight sentences or less. That's what you'll get in your inbox every morning; a complete recap of multiple topics ranging from foreign affairs to businesses to sports and television. And you'll hear it from a neutral source, allowing you to form your own thoughts.
More than anything else, the relaxed copy style is what I appreciate the most. The lovely ladies behind this gem of an idea know that you're reading this email at 7:30am when you're walking from your car into the office. You probably haven't had any caffeine and you're exhausted, so the last thing you want to read is "In a major ruling, Judge Rosemary Collyer, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the administration does not have the power to spend money on cost sharing reduction payments to insurers without an appropriation from Congress". I still have to read that sentence twice and I've had multiple coffees today. That same story can be told in a much easier way by simply saying "Yesterday, a federal judge said a key part of Obamacare is unconstitutional. And then House Republicans broke out a happy dance."
Recently, theSkimm released a subscription-based iPhone app called SkimmAhead. "It gives you all the info you need to know for the future. Never again will you wonder when Beyonce tickets go on sale, what time the State of the Union is on, or when your favorite show is coming back on Netflix." I've yet to download it because it costs $3 a month and I have a thing about paying for apps, however it seems like an incredible idea and the next time I get a raise at work it's going to be my first purchase.
theSkimm is one of the best things I've done for myself in my post-grad life, right next to getting allergy tested. Even if you never bring up Pope Francis suggesting maybe women could have a larger role in the Catholic Church, just being able to walk around the break room knowing you'd be able to talk about it with that guy from HR or your distant aunt at a family get-together is pretty reassuring.