Some people like DNA
Monday, July 9th, 2007
Photo is (c)iStockphoto.com/Andreas Kaspar
The top of a webpage is hugely important. The first few seconds of looking at a page are usually when you make a decision about whether you’ll stay on the page or click away. The top of the page is usually what you see in those first decision-making seconds.
It’s also hugely important to choose your messaging and image. Mesh what you’re passionate about with what other people will appreciate. In an interview Michael Weitz and I did with Howard Bloom in March of last year on superstars he worked with such as Prince and John Cougar Mellencamp, Howard uses the metaphor:
“You know a clutch in an old engine? Yeah, okay, so you know – that one plate spins, and the other one is disengaged, but when the two engage, the clutch moves things. Well, this part is the public. And this part is your soul. And you have to find the place where your soul can interface with the public to make the whole thing spin. To make the transmission go. To take you through the rest of your life.”
In choosing the image at the top of the Questions pages, I want a picture or pictures to convey what people are going through and feeling when they are thinking over and over about an upcoming situation or something that’s going to happen. That’s the “before.” And then I want pictures to show the “after” — jumping for joy, celebrating, smiling, ideally an activity you can feel in your body when you look at it.
These images need to be universal. The person needs to be so involved in their emotions and their situation that they are not looking self-consciously and everyone can relate with them. I’ve only found two photos of this yet though, and it’s taking awhile to hear from the copyright holders.
So I thought a “Store Opening” equivalent image would be okay. I found a photo of party streamers, and up close they made a nice banner. But it’s not totally clear what the close-up is. Yes, it looks possibly like DNA, with streamers entwined in a helix. I thought that before I posted the image, and then I thought it looks good anyway. It’s colorful.
But some people today said, “It looks like DNA.” They obviously didn’t like how DNA looks at the top of a website! And I’m assuming that many, many people don’t like how DNA looks at the top of a website. But also, the party streamers do give the page a nice colorful feel if you don’t get all negative about DNA.
So, having known the image wasn’t perfect, I am now looking for another one, but leaving it up until something better comes along. If you have a photo of yourself, or yourself and friends, or yourself and family, or yourself and your significant other, or a photo of other people who will look great at the top of www.questionswebsite.com , then please email it to me or send me the link to it online, through the questions Contact page.
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