TREND REPORT – Windy City Edition

ASI Show Chicago

I spent last week trend scouting at the ASI Show in Chicago: My days in the windy city were non-stop! I learned all about the new, latest gadgets, apparel trends, imprint options, product categories, Holiday 2012 releases, and more. I also hit the streets of “Old Hollywood” to scope out some retail trends in action.

I was on a mission to discover the most impressive new promotional products that will launch this fall, and also re-discover the products that continue to impress year after year. Now it’s time to share what I found to be the industry’s best with you!

I will be sharing full details on the trends that I loved over the next couple of weeks. For now, I’ll start with what I call, “Beyond The Classics.”

CLICK HERE to check out what’s trending now!

JULY 2012 TREND BRIEFING: NEWISM

NEWISM – Why more than ever, consumers lust after the new. And why that spells heaven or hell for brands.

Definition:
The ‘new’ has never been hotter, as the entire world, from emerging to mature economies, is now creating new products, services and experiences on a daily, if not hourly basis, in every B2C industry. Which moves ‘new’ from being a tired marketing ploy by ‘old’ brands (‘new and improved!’), to a genuine, exciting proposition for consumers.

CHECK OUT THE FULL REPORT! http://trendwatching.com/trends/newism/

Source: http://www.trendwatching.com. One of the world’s leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.

25 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS You Probably Didn’t Know About

  1. WIN + C: Display the Windows Charms Bar, where you can perform search and change settings.
  2. WIN + D: Takes you to your desktop.
  3. WIN + M: Minimize all open apps.
  4. WIN + PAGE UP/ PAGE DOWN: Move between your two monitors when in dual display mode.
  5. WIN + SPACE BAR: Switch language.
  6. F11: Enter full-screen mode on your browser.
  7. CTRL + SHIFT + N: Create a new folder in current directory/ folder.
  8. CTRL + W: Close current tab.
  9. CTRL + SHIFT + T: Reopens last closed tab (works on most browsers).
  10. CTRL + B: Manage browser bookmarks.
  11. CTRL + Q: Close current application.
  12. CTRL + Z & CTRL + Y: Undo & Redo.
  13. CTRL + O: Open file.
  14. CTRL + R: Reload page.
  15. CTRL + 1-9: Switch between browser tabs, according to order of appearance (works on most browsers).
  16. ALT + TAB: Switch between open programs.
  17. CTRL + SHIFT + ESC: Display Task Manager.
  18. CTRL + MOUSE WHEEL: Make font size bigger or smaller.
  19. CTRL + -/+: Zoom in and out on page.
  20. CTRL + ENTER: In the internet browser URL field, use this combo to add “www.” and “.com” to the text you type.
  21. HOME (IN A TEXT FIELD): Move to beginning of line.
  22. END (IN A TEXT FIELD): Move to end of the line.
  23. HOME (ON ANY OPEN WINDOW): Go to the top of the current window.
  24. END (ON ANY OPEN WINDOW): Go to bottom of current window.
  25. SHIFT + DELETE: Erase file permanently.