There are a lot of things from my college days that I still yearn for -- the independence, the fun, and even (sometimes) going to class!  But one thing I truly do not miss is carrying around dozens of bulky textbooks every day.  I'm convinced that schlepping the heavy course books has permanently messed up my posture, but that's besides the point.

As eReaders continue to grow in popularity, the days when students were forced to haul around 20-pound backpacks may be coming to an end.  If you've got an eBook (like the Kindle or Nook), there are several services that allow you to purchase digital textbooks.

Mashable suggests using one of five digital textbook services to help make life a little easier for students and readers on the move.

1.  Project Gutenberg

A library of digital books, the site offers more than 38,000 free works in plain text, HTML and PDF formats.

2.  eCampus

The great thing about eCampus is that it not only allows consumers to purchase online textbooks at competitive rates, but it also allows them to highlight text and take Internet notes.  Over 100,000 digital pieces are available.

3.  Google Books

Wow -- Google really does do everything.  Google Books allows users to peruse through over 2 million titles on any mobile device.  It's easy to access and well-organized.

4.  Kno

This eBook service is unique in that provides users with 3D diagrams and a "Quiz Me" option that tests readers' knowledge of textbooks' information.

5.  Zinio

The company's slogan is "Read Anywhere, Anytime," and it holds true.  Zinio's Web site allows users to download digitized magazines to Apple mobile devices as well as those powered by Android.

As you can see, thanks to eReaders and digital book services, students and heavy readers alike no longer have to lug their branded books around all day!  Not to mention the fact that eBooks can also help you save a few bucks.  Do you ever purchase digital texts?

This past Thursday January 26th, Ken, Laura, Samantha and myself attended the SAAGNY winter showcase 2012.  The plethora of trade show items were amazing.  Any promotional product you could think of was there.  Any item you may want imprinted they had on display.  It really makes you think about how many of these items you come in contact with every single day.  We all had a great time walking the show and are looking forward to selling many of these item to our customers!

To sum up all that a great man did in one blog post is an impossibility.  Therefore, I won't even try to explain all the reasons we celebrate and commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today.  Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  And while I may not have lived at the same time as Dr. King, his words have certainly affected me.

Today, I'd like to share with you some of my favorite MLK quotes.  Let's take a look at some of his thoughts and visions about inequality, love and hate, and protest, which are still relevant today:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"A riot is the language of the unheard."

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'"

I find these passages extremely powerful; I hope that Dr. King's words resonate with you, too.  Feel free to jot a few down with your favorite custom printed pen, and glance at them whenever you need inspiration!  What's your favorite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quote?

On Friday night, I had the privilege of getting together with Bari, Motivators' Sales Assistant, and our former morning receptionist, Jess.  Bari gave Jess and I a tour of her new apartment, and it's awesome!  I'm still living at home, so getting to see my friends' places is always an exciting occasion.

As I approach the one-year mark of my employment at Motivators, I'm realizing that I see promotional products all over the place.  Apparently Bari's house is no exception; one of the first things that stood out to me was the promotional magnetic memo board on her refrigerator.  Bari uses the promotional item for jotting down her shopping lists -- smart!

Coming across the memo board got me thinking:  I wonder how many promotional products we use daily without even realizing it.  For example, chances are the umbrella you keep in the back seat of your car in case of a shower is actually a promotional umbrella.  The flash drive you store your important files on is most likely a custom USB device you received from your university or employer.

Look around -- how many promotional products do you see?

Perhaps I am the rare exception, but when doing research I turn off the computer and pull out the books and newspapers.  For me, nothing compares to having a hard copy of the material right in front of you.  I underline important points with my promotional gel pen, highlight useful information, and bookmark pages for reference.

But according to Mashable, students turn to the Internet for research more often than not.  The problem that arises is that citation pages are often inaccurate; it's difficult to preserve "bibliography information while cruising from link to link." 

In an attempt to correct this issue, Citelighter has created a note-collecting toolbar that students can use as they browse the Web.  Mashable reports that once the Firefox plugin has been downloaded, "students can highlight any text on any web page and click a 'capture' button to save it in a virtual notebook."  When students sit down to write, the highlighted content is easily accessed.  The information can even be reordered into an outline.

Best of all, the app automatically builds the student's citation page.

Currently, the extension is only available for Firefox users.  However, the company says it will release versions for Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer in the near future.  Do you prefer to do your work online, or are you a fan of traditional research methods?

Typically, the goal for most marketing promotions is to increase sales or increase your customer base. So the first thing companies do is figure out who to target to have the greatest immediate impact. Maybe it is 18-24 year old males, or 45+ females, that is the group of people who would most likely become your customer and spend money with you. Those are the people that you would make sure receive your promotional products. The one group most forgotten about is the youth factor. Most companies forget to target the youth so often because children obviously don't have the financial capabilities or the decision making power. Or do they? If you turn your attention to the children, instead of the parents, you can build their brand allegiance and therefore pressure parents into going one way or the other. It's the reason promotional products have been in Happy Meals for years! That's why Motivators carries a huge variety of promotional products that will make kids love your brand. Such popular items like custom rubber band bracelets and promotional coloring books are always a big hit with kids. So next time you put together your marketing campaign...won't somebody think of the children??

How many times during the day do most people look for a pen?  It seems like an insignifigant item most of the time...Until you need one!  Either to scribble down a phone number or even write out a deposit slip.  Custom imprinted pens can be a great help to people in need of a writing utensil in a pinch.  They are also a great way to get your companies name on a promotional item and help people to jot down important information.  A few days ago we recieved a huge bag of my favorite custom imprinted pens and I should be well stocked for quite as while as you can see!!

What are your kids eating at school? Chef Jaime Oliver recently launched an online campaign, called "School Lunch Wall," that aims to expose unhealthy lunch foods.  The Web site allows users to submit photos of their schools' custom food products. The cafeteria foods are then displayed and voted on in a "hot or not" fashion.

According to Mashable, "At the moment, most of the food on the site doesn’t look bad. But the vote results are also an interesting look at what people consider to be healthy or tasty food."  Oliver's Web site, therefore, also serves as an educational resource:  It teaches students and parents to look at cafeteria foods more closely and evaluate just how nutritious they are.

Think back to high school -- how do you think your school's food would have measured up?

Human beings have always had a strange fascination with the possibility of aliens despite the fact that scientists have discovered very few planets that could potentially support life. That is, until now.

According to the New York Times, European astronomers "found what might be the best candidate for a Goldilocks planet yet: a lump of something about 3.6 times as massive as the Earth, circling its star at the right distance for liquid water to exist on its surface — and thus, perhaps, to host life."  The implications of the discovery could be incredible; the planet's distance from its star puts it "in the star's so-called habitable zone."  Life, therefore, could exist on these planets.

While the discovery of these planets is exciting, scientists caution that "it would take years and observations from telescopes not yet built before those assumptions could be tested and a search for signs of life could be undertaken."  Still, I can't help but imagine a world identical to ours 36 light-years away -- a world in which aliens might wear promotional t-shirts and custom backpacks of their own.

Even though we'll need more proof to verify new signs of life, knowing that aliens could exist is undoubtedly breathtaking.  "I think we're in for an incredibly exciting time," said Lisa Kaltenegger, a habitability expert at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, according to Fox News.   "We're not just going out there to discover new continents — we're actually going out there to discover brand new worlds."

I always enjoyed the beginning of school. Everything is new and exciting. My favorite part was going to the store and buying new school supplies. The smell of a fresh customized notebook, a clean personalized pencil case, imprinted pens that have never been used, and my personal favorite...a new custom backpack! I love the feel and smell of a new backpack or any customized bag for that matter. Every year I would look forward to picking out new personalized bags for school and for soccer. That is why Motivators is the perfect place for me to work! I am able to order new customized bags and promotional items every day!