What's on YOUR desktop?

My desktop wallpaper lets me personalize what I see: but decorating (or defacing?) the back of my notebook computer is all about what I want others to think about me.

Apparently, it's a growing fashion trend. (See picture at left from www.flickr.com. What do you think? Decorating or defacing?)

Now sometimes, we catch a glimpse of other people's desktop wallpapers and get a revealing look at what they really think or who they really are.

Imagine my surprise when an Ann Taylor- wearing, mid-fifties executive booted up her laptop on a video display and treated her audience to a very Goth -- and I mean dark, dirty, and disturbing -- wallpaper!

"Halloween," she choked nervously.

Nobody was buying it.

"Teenage son got a hold of my notebook?"

Uh-uh.

So let's say you don't decorate the outside of your notebook....what does your notebook desktop wallpaper reveal about you, your personality, your interests? And what kind of impact might it make on your audience if they caught a glimpse of it before, during, or after your presentation?

(I'll confess - the outside of my notebook is clean: no stickers. And I change the desktop wallpaper with the seasons or my mood. Today, it's a school of fish. Last month, it was a field of lavendar. Go ahead: psychoanalyze away!)

What's on YOUR desktop? ¶ 10/21/2005 09:39:00 AM