At the start page just type in a keyword or two. The application then takes you to a display of images from Flickr which use that tag. You can browse through these and click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

Even better, move your mouse to the edge of the browser and the pictures zoom out to reveal a circle of related tags. This is great for finding tags which relate to yours, and helps you to think about the big picture of how your subject links to others.

The only problem is how long do you spend looking! Give it a try – it’s fascinating.

One of the challenges in marketing your website (or blog, or Squidoo lens) is to make yourself different and to stand out from the crowd. One way to do this is to use stunning images, just like this amazing picture of TableTop Mountain in South Africa.

This post certainly sticks out!! It uses a technique called CSS Background, where the image is used as a background to the paragraphs of text. You can find out how to do this on my CSS Background Squidoo Lens.

There’s an additional technique here too. The paragraphs use a fine array of dots to darken them over the blue sky background. This produces a semi-transparent effect which helps the text to stand out. The text here is white, which looks pretty good. I’ll post the code for this here in a day or two.

Can you think of more ways to make yourself stand out from the crowd?

Is this really productive? Is all this effort really making your website great, or is it just filling your time? My experience is that it’s pretty hard to find insipiration for great ideas while you are sitting in front of your laptop.

The only way to really think about what you are doing, or to generate those ideas that can make your website truly great, is to step away from the computer.

Have you ever noticed how your best ideas happen when you are relaxed, when you are not trying hard to think about them? Maybe it’s in the shower, or while walking the cat, or when you’re listening to your Mother on the phone (only joking). This is because your mind is free to wander about and explore new possibilities without being distracted by the ping of new emails arriving.

I recommend taking a half hour break from the computer every day. Take a notebook with you and jot down any ideas that you have. It’s amazing what you can come up with.

Of course this should always be done after you’ve read my latest blog entry!!