I surf the Internet at limitless speed—flying from one page to the next, with an attention span of less than a second. I probably surf through a couple of thousand pages a day. And this got me thinking: What is the first website that I constantly pull up when I turn on my computer in the morning?

I know my answer is going to sound like a cliché, but Google is my starting point. I really have no direction; I let news find me through Twitter and blogs—completely different from 3 years ago when the New York Times was my homepage.

I asked my peers the same question:

What’s the first website you pull up when you turn on your computer? Why?

Mary Elise | Account Manager

It’s between these three:
Ted.com for inspiration and interesting discussions.
Inc.com for latest business news and innovative start-up ideas.
Deviantart.com for visual stimulation and creative inspiration.

(more…)

What are the right colors for you business? To discuss this topic, one has to have some understanding of the psychology of color. Different colors affect moods and attitude in different ways. Furthermore, one has to take into consideration the culture of your targeted demographic, as different colors have different psychological (conscious and unconscious) meanings within various cultures.

Red

Red is the most emotionally intense color. It stimulates an increased heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love.

For a long time the corporate color of choice was red. It was known as “corporate red.” This can be shown in the logos of companies such as: Shell, McDonalds, Exxon, Target, Johnson and Johnson. Red was a popular choice because of the eye’s natural attraction to the color red.

Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier—so be careful with those red bikinis, ladies! Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. I know that you have heard that red automobiles are the most targeted cars to get stolen. Also when used in decorating, red is usually an accent—most decorators say that red furniture attracts attention, helping round out a bland room.

An offshoot of red—a pale red, pink is the most romantic color and is more tranquilizing than red. Sports teams sometimes paint the opponent’s locker rooms bright pink, so that they will lose energy. A little tidbit, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s and from then until the 1940s, pink was considered appropriate for boys because being related to red.

(more…)