In February, I came across a New York Times article titled, “Are You There Teenagers? A Newsletter Aims For Your Inbox.” Automatically, what grabbed my attention was the names of the founders of Clover. Liza Darwin and Casey Lewis who both have backgrounds in working in publishing and entertainment where Liza Darwin was a former digital editor of NYLON and MTV while Casey Lewis was the senior digital editor of Teen Vogue. More than a year ago I connected with Liza Darwin on LinkedI n in hopes of discussing advice for the future if I were to get into the design, marketing and editorial side of the media industry.
Friends Liza Darwin and Casey Lewis have recently founded Clover, a daily newsletter geared towards girls allowing them to catch up on the news, express themselves and connect with other girls through the internet initiative. In an interview with the Daily Dot in January, Clover strives to distinguish itself from other sites and magazines that appeal to teens by serving up content that serves purpose, rather than just entertainment. "We've found that teens care about real issues, like Planned Parenthood and politics, but they’re not especially informed on them," Darwin explained. "So we've decided to have a mix of relevant issues in the world as well as relevant issues in their own world."
At 18, I am at a crossroads of intersecting paths to where my mind should wander and what events I should be focused on in life. If I constantly see the covers of magazines filled with the same claim-to-fame celebrities famous for almost any reason on Earth, what does that tell me about what holds importance in society? We live in a society so attached to our media outlets from social networking to television that one-third of our day is focused on consuming it according to a study done by a nonprofit group, Common Sense Media. Instead of conversing with others in situations of silence with strangers, friends or family, we unlock our phones into a world of endless possibilities to endeavor into. According to Pew Research Center, girls dominate almost all social media platforms, with 61 percent of girls on Instagram, 51 percent on Snapchat and 33 percent for online boards such as Pinterest. With the amount of time girls spend on social media, a main focus of Clover is allow girls the option of receiving a daily newsletter in a format that not only captivates their attention through a spotlight on one of the girls from the Clover Community, but streams them stories and news relatable to their own life.
Clover launched on February 1, 2016 and has received impeccable feedback and features from media outlets stating that an e-newsletter is exactly what teen girls and young women need in their lives since it’s easily accessible through email and gives the daily information of the world around from all aspects of the social, political, economical and entertainment sphere of the world. If one could spare a few minutes browsing their feeds and timelines, one could click on the daily Clover newsletter for a couple minutes to read current events, opinion pieces, interviews, short stories and spotlights from fellow subscribers of Clover and the founders Liza and Casey themselves.
If you're interested in subscribing to Clover, consider yourself referred.
