The Credibility of My Sources

Imagine a day without the Internet… seems impossible doesn’t it? Not only would my writing be invisible to you right now but also I would not even have the resources to write about a topic that interests me. This is just a speck of all the changes that would result if the Internet became obsolete. Fortunately, there are no signs of that ever happening, which means that my resources will always be a credible source of information for my blog posts. Everyday, billions of people use the Internet to access information, take care of their daily chores, and also have a source for entertainment. Resources are vital for all these activities. Just as a reference list or a works cited page highlights all the resources used in a particular essay, the related links bar on my blog highlights all the sources that I find useful for my posts. Since most of my postings are based or related to these links, I would like to spend some time analyzing each source and what it has to offer.

AdAge.com offers information on the newest and up-and-coming ad campaigns. Not only do authors write different columns each week, but also a list of blogs can be accessed for additional information. Most relevant however are the ad campaigns they analyze and discuss. For ecample, did you know that Unilever, the company who owns Dove, declined ther offer to advertise at the Super Bowl? Ad Age did! Without Ad Age or the Internet I would not know of this information as soon as i did.

Ad Hunt also displays recent successful advertising campaigns, but does not analyze each ad campaign like Ad Age does. Ad Hunt illustrates the ads for visual evaluation.For example, the new Mini Cooper campaign is featured on Ad Hunt. As each car drives past interactive digital billboards,personalized messages are displayed based on personal information the customer has provided at the time of his/her purchase. Ad Hunt calls in a “minority Report,” I think its one step closer to our high tech world.

Another interesting resource I have is Ads of the World. This website depicts different advertisements worldwide. Advertising influences people all over the world.Why not get familiar with ads in Japan or Germany along with your own nations? Also, the site makes it easy for you to select a specific region’s advertising campaigns, or to locate ads from a specific industry. This is useful because people can compare and contrast ads for clothing from America with those in China or Australia. In sum, the site illustrates the point that each specific culture has certain appeals that advertisers must appeal to.

Creative Response, a blog I have evaluated in an earlier posting, focuses on all forms of creative expression. This site includes featured ad campaigns, innovative paintings, new promotional ideas and even talks about issues circulating around the ethics and morals of advertising. It is a good source to access innovative creativity that can be used in future advertisements.

Along with these online resources, I also have a few links to books that are prized in my field of study.For example, Practices of Looking is one of my favorite sources about how advertisements are viewed and what influences they leave on people. Throughout my posts I draw out information from the actual book, Practices of Looking. Therefore, I want my readers to familiarize themselves with the information I am using. The website has many useful tools such as an outline and brief summary of each chapter. Another important source is ERIC. This site offers educational information about various topics, such as advertising. Therefore, the readers of my blog can get a brief understand of how advertising works and what it entails by visiting ERIC.

Another credible source is the blog for the book titled Communities Dominate Brands. Personally, I find the blog more engaging than the actual book because the book was published once and cannot be changed unless a new publication takes place. However, the blog can feature new information just by adding a post. Also, the blog includes comments from readers which ads more material and engages readers.
Lastly, I have listed my wikipedia search for advertisements. Often times people do not consider wikipedia a credible source because anyone can write anything they want about any topic they chose. I disagree. People deserve more credit than that. Also, if I read something I find questionable, or had to believe I can go ahead and do a more thorough search on that particular area. The Internet is not limited to wikipedia, but so long as that resource exists I believe we should all make use of it. Thus far, I have not yet been displeased with the website and until that day I will continue to rely on it for information.

However, related links are not the only important resources on my blog. Here are certain tools such as Diggo, Furl and Del.icio.us that help me clear through the clutter of information by annotating and organizing that information. Also, these sites are a great place for finding additional information on Advertising. For example, i can access peoples bookmarks on Diggo and use annotated pieces of text that apply to topic. The combination of my related links and my tools give me the ability to formulate well written posts for readers of this particular interest to enjoy.

Therefore, I would like to give a special thanks to the Internet for giving my blog a home, my resourceful links for giving me the information to give my blog character, and my tools for sorting through the clutter. Cheers!