Incomia

A recent Instagram post of  Peter Rabbit  by the account Beach4Art received over 2.3 million views. When you first look at the picture it looks like a painting, but when you zoom in, you realize that it’s composed of seashells, rocks and other organic beach materials similar to an optical illusion. The creators of the beach artwork, leva Slare and her husband Dzintars, along with their two teenage children, have been designing impressive beach art for the past four years on the North Devon, UK beaches. Twelve years ago, they moved to the UK from Latvia.  The beginnings of Beach4Art Their creative endeavor began during the first UK lockdown of the pandemic in 2020. “It all started with just one very simple mandala project,” says Ieva. Her son asked for her help on an assigned school project to make a mandala from natural and recycled beach materials. Since Ieva has an art degree, she was excited to help her son with his homework. His teacher and other teachers from h...

It’s not your imagination— more men are now married to female breadwinners than in decades past . If you look at a school carpool line, more men are present during hours that would have traditionally been reserved for work. In general, men aren’t working as much as they used to. Based on data from March 2024 , there has been a significant drop in male employment. 96% of men were working full-time or part-time in the 1950s, while 86% of men ages 25–54 are working in 2024.  But as with any cultural phenomenon, the reasons for this occurrence are complex and multifaceted and can’t be solely attributed to an increased number of women financially supporting their families.  “As a business leader, I’ve had the privilege of working with numerous entrepreneurs and innovators, and I believe the trend of men working less than previous generations is a complex issue with multiple factors at play,” says Jon Morgan, CEO and editor-in-chief of Venture Smarter , a business consulting firm ...

Most of my audience knows me as a journalist, but my alter ego is a digital marketer. Recently, someone I work with told me that you can’t measure the return on investment in marketing. I called BS.  Marketing is a long game with many touches. While you may not be able to assign a specific dollar amount, you can certainly identify the key performance indicators that gauge the success of your campaign. Email open rates . Ad conversion rates. SEO metrics like traffic and position on the search engine response page. Each of these indicators can help you determine your overall digital marketing ROI.  But your marketing budget and your revenue should have a correlation, and if you don’t see results after working with a marketer for some time, it’s likely that you should reevaluate your strategy and look closely at what’s working and what isn’t. Are you spending enough? Are you spending too much? What are your rates for the KPIs listed above? A meaningful marketing campaign shou...

Today, 62% of Americans own a pet ; and of those pet owners, 97% of them consider their pet to be a part of their family. Pets have become a huge part of American culture and bring joy to many homes, but are there benefits of having a pet that contribute to our overall success? That depends on how you define success. Success is often linked to good health , self-confidence and positive social skills. With 33 out of 45 (73%) past U.S. presidents having owned a dog , pet ownership seems like a positive component for people in high-powered positions. A 2018 survey by Banfield Pet Hospital agrees, with 78% of C-suite executives surveyed attributing their success in part to owning a pet as a child. But according to some studies , the answer is mixed. 1. Pets promote good health I’ve always been a dog person. But managing three young kids, one with severe disabilities, I didn’t know if I could handle having a pet as well. In 2020, like many other people stuck at home, my kids wanted a do...

In the realm of the technology adoption life cycle, I once comfortably identified with the early majority adopter —not a laggard or skeptic, but also not an innovator. I would have described myself as pragmatic, preferring to wait until a piece of technology had been proven effective before embracing it and seeking the experiences, opinions and referrals of my innovator friends. I wasn’t the first to get the newest iPhone, and I was certainly the last to get started on Instagram. However, the early majority adopter mindset simply won’t cut it today. The workplace is driven by a technology revolution and relentless innovation that continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible. While waiting for a technology to be proven effective, your business could lose its competitive advantage . I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power that tech integration has brought to businesses across many industries. From streamlining operations to enhancing productivity and revolutionizing cu...

Summertime brings with it a general celebration of the great outdoors. From beach retreats to hiking adventures , this time of year inspires myriad reasons to leave the house. Though a sunny day can always motivate me to head outside, there’s nothing that boosts that desire more than an opportunity to do one of my favorite things in the world: eat.  Fortunately, thanks to temperate weather and fresh produce in its peak in many parts of the world, summer and fall are optimal seasons to pursue food-filled excursions. These include themed international food festivals  that celebrate the flavors of a city, and bustling markets to sample bites and get an intimate look at the everyday life of a locale. These food-fueled gatherings have become even more meaningful after years of separation due to the pandemic . Mark your calendar for these nine international food festivals and markets worth visiting this summer. 1. Maine Lobster Festival July 31-August 4 Lobster and Maine are sy...

We all want to be popular and well-liked. It’s natural to try to make friends or notice how we fit into a group. But we don’t click with everyone, and many of us have a sense when someone isn’t our biggest fan. In some cases, we can avoid those individuals. But what if we need to meet face-to-face with someone who we know doesn’t like us at work, our kid’s daycare or even family gatherings on a regular basis? How do we manage to be around these people and still stay sane, productive and happy? Recognize the signs that a person doesn’t like you First, you need to understand the situation and really determine if someone doesn’t like you. Body language speaks louder than words—and while most of us know the signs, it’s still not easy to understand. “Most people can pick up on micro movements and muscles from others that we apply meaning around,” says Crystal Spiegel, LCSW , a social worker and psychotherapist at Therapy Arts. “What we’re tracking is eye contact. Do they have empathy tow...