I'd like to do a little informal poll here. What do you use as your start page? I've tried different start pages over the years, and I've always migrated back to My Yahoo! because I get a nice mix of information - some that I can supply via RSS feeds, and some that is news chosen by editors who have a pretty good idea of what they think is important news of the day. In addition, I like the look and feel. I think that's really the key to it for me. Although I can add my own personal touch to it, My Yahoo seems to get the design and default information right from the get-go. I don't have to work hard to be happy with it, but I can if I want to.
I've tried Pageflakes and Netvibes and many similar personalized start page services, but I always end up back at My Yahoo. I think it was more a function of not taking the time to get it the way I wanted it. But I'm not quite sure if that's why I moved back or not. Something just wasn't "right".
I know some people probably have a search engine as their start page, and I can't really understand why. I use the search form at the top of my browser so it seems a waste to use a search engine as my start page.
Some might use their feed readers as their home page. I don't, simply because I use GreatNews as a separate application. But I can see how an online feed reader might be useful as a start page.
Most personalized start page applications can now let you create separate tabs, so I can see how some might have the "generic news and info" on one tab, "SEO feeds" on another tab, etc. That might be something I should try sometime.
Our days as SEOs, web developers, website owners, etc. are pretty crammed with tons of to-do items. The way we organize our days can be crucial to our productivity. The start pages we use may be a contributing factor, albeit in a small way, to that productivity. For that reason, I'd like to see if perhaps I'm missing out on some great way of starting my online experience. In any case, I revisit my start page decision from time to time, and this time I thought it would be fun to see what others are using. Maybe your choice is the one that makes me do a happy dance - makes me just a little more productive.
Just let us know in the comments what you have your start page set to and thanks for sharing!