D is for DailyMe: And That’s Good Enough for Me

The college life is oft credited for its lack of structure, but I see this as more of a mixed blessing.  Because the unforced hand must bear a lot of responsibility, and the choices we make—as perceived by others—are completely our own.  And just like under any government structure, students are frequently confronted with trade-offs for which they must pick a side. 

In a co-ed dorm with a co-ed bathroom, it’s either privacy or hygiene (you are never alone in there, but it’s the only place you can get a good hand-wash these days); and when it comes to biking across the campus’s full sprawl, it’s either safety or style (refusing to wear a bike helmet may be man at his most irrational, but for some reason [the chin strap], many share his stance.) When it comes to finding good outside news coverage, however, our choice is more of an ultimatum.  The only two options: ignorant bliss, or find it for yourself.  So here is where my summer internship at DailyMe REALLY made it easy to choose the latter. 

The only universal adjectives to describe a college campus are “insulated” and “digital” and hopefully DailyMe will find a large captive audience in my demographic.  I mean, it’s not that no other news reaches us: each dining hall is well stocked with copies the regional rag, and we also receive a student-run daily.  When I pick one of those up, though, I seldom get beyond the classified ads (psychological experimenters offer up to $25-a-week for willing subjects).  Bottom line: I seriously give DailyMe props for creating a platform to give me all the information I want in the most convenient way possible and FREE – muy importante to the average college kid.

And it adds some structure to my day, too.  I chose the automatic print delivery option (the only dependable paperboy left in this world), and it’s the best alarm clock I could ask for.  My laserjet’s print-in-progress sound is just what I need to get my feet on the floor (I love the smell of toner in the morning).  The way I see it, this system will only fail to wake me come the day when there is no news to print—and is it even worth waking up, in that case? 

            As far as my former Florida officemates - well, I haven’t seen them since long before their launch date.  I do I share the occasional text message, email, IM and/or phone conversation with Mrs. Boss.  It seems as though things are off to a real good start.  I did hear that the atomic clock synchronizing dilemma peaked once again with the changing of weeks for Daylight Savings this year, but it’s safe to say that was a secondary business interest of the CEO. 

And now for the part of my blog you really want to know…college life is awesome! (but you knew that already – right?) - More to come about the daily trials and tribulations of my freshmanhood in my upcoming blogs.  The DailyMe Intern is back baby!    

Peace, Love, and Personalized Media -

-John the Intern