Webinspiration: Social Tools Concept Map for Advertising

Here's my Concept Map!

Open Source Software

Open Source software can easily become one of the best innovations of our time. With people knowing so much about technology where they can create software or modify open source software to cater it to their needs is mind boggling. Open Source software allows people to access source codes so they can understand and manipulate everything about it. Open Source software is used by many as alternatives to software that you have to pay for like word processors or photo editing programs but the true gem in these programs is the access to the source code. This allows for so much innovation and creativity.

Open Source software can be used in the advertising field in many ways. I know that use of of Audacity and the VLC player is wide spread across the field. There are some in the field that can code so they really are the ones that can benefit. They can use the source code to cater programs to whatever they need in particular situations or even just general use in their office. I know there are probably so many more that are widely used that I'm not even aware of in the field but I'm sure their out there.

This Open Source software could be a break through in the advertising field.

With Google making 97% of its billion dollar quarters from its advertising programs, Web advertising is venturing into a great realm of new opportunity. Openads, an open source software, is one of the only ad servers that are free (dated article). Ad servers allow you, along with AdWords, to control what ads appear on your site so you can cater them to your viewers. If ads are actually links to what your viewers want to see and are reliable, this could really help you out.

Social Bookmarking!

Social Bookmarking is a very good innovation. Innovations like this, Google products and even YouTube, people are becoming more and more connected and are able to help each other. Social Bookmarking takes the idea of bookmarking pages you like on your browser but streamlines it through tagging then allows you to share with others. I know my bookmarks bar is practicully rendered useless at this point because it has so much stuff on it. I totally lose sight of sights because I bookmark others, pushing previous bookmarks back out of sight. With Social Bookmarking, tags allow to easily recall sights that you're looking for.

With so many resources, blogs and inspirational sights used be graphic designers like myself in the field, its easily to lose bookmarks or get very unorganized easily. Social Bookmarking can definitely solve this problem. The other thing is the fact that you can share our bookmarks can really help your peers. I could see it being really helpful if one team of designers creates one social bookmarking identity and everyone simply adds to that one account. That could be a great project and can be very helpful for a collaborative group.

This link I found (interestingly enough only opened in a GoogleDoc) from the Educause Learning Initiative. They discuss several topics pertaining to Social Bookmarking and is a good read. One thing I thought was interesting was that they pointed at Social Bookmarking's amateur aspect. There's no mediation so people can easily leave out necessary tags and such. Maybe sights such as Delicious can scan tags and create tags on its on and then allow the bookmarker to add their own personal tags.

GoogleDocs & our Future

In MANY fields of work, collaboration and group work is the way to get things done. Google is the leader in Web innovation and the future of how we will use the Web. Those clever minds over there created GoogleDocs. This entity is the ultimate collaboration tool. Instead of modifying documents through making copies on every machine of every collaborator, GoogleDocs makes ONE document, spreadsheet or presentation that everyone can edit in one spot. This streamlines the group's work. They don't have to sit there and cross reference six different documents when editing.

This will be immensely big in Advertising in the future. For example, we edit copy all the time at my job and several people always do it. We have an external server where we save all documents and files so there's only one file that everyone accesses. This is exactly what GoogleDocs does but just widens the range of who can be a part of the collaboration. People outside the office or company may not have access to the server so they can't access the files but with their unique invite through email, they can!

Here's a very comprehensive article about what GoogleDocs is, how it works and the future it can have from How Stuff Works. With Google's innovation, the sky is the limit at this point. Google has so much that it either has or that it can create to incorporate into what it already has. I think adding in a chat applet and/or video conferencing feature would really be amazing. GoogleMeetings maybe?? Not to mention the consideration of translation. There could almost be a deterioration of language barriers across the world. Imagine what that could do for International business and commerce?

Audio Formats

There is so much more to audio than sound. Being that all we need is a basic understanding of audio file formats for whatever use we need it for, I feel as though we (especially my generation) take it for granted. Even the way we manage and handle audio files has come so far and we just take it for it is and accept. I remember when CD's were really starting to phase out tapes. I remember the FIRST CD I bought in 3rd grade (possibly '97 or '98). TODAY, only ten years later, CD's can be considered irrelevant with the abundance of digital MP3 file usage. It's crazy. The speed that technology is moving at is scary, as we already discussed. I can't even imagine the advances that my children will deal with. They will probably be advancing on a YEARLY basis a compared to out decade changes. I wonder what my parent's think about this as they can remember as far back as records and ATRAC's.

Understanding audio and its file formats can be very important in my field. Whether you're a designer, director or manager, I'm sure you would have to have at least basic knowledge of it. Audio is used in commercials, presentations, sound bites and many other instances in the Advertising field. As a graphic designer, I primarily work with print and Web material. In my office, we create videos as well and at times, I may have to assist with that. Audio is almost always included.

Sometimes, audio files don't come in file types that are ideal for projects. There is plenty of free software out there than can fix this problem. Switch Sound file converter does that. This easy to use program only takes MP3 and WAV files as input BUT it can output these files to 21 other file types for whatever your needs may be. I definitely could see myself using this one day.

My Sound Project (Podcasting Lesson)

My sound was inspired by the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case. In light of Sara Ragle Weddington

visiting UF (story here) to speak, I thought it was fitting to make a slight commentary on

the issue. I believe that choice is circumstantial when it comes to the abortion situations

but i feel like pro-choice and choice advocates get caught up in their view points and lose

sight of other factors in situations. With this sound project, I took actual audio from the

case that is available online here and layered the case name and number over the argument.

The argument is Weddington's conclusion first said coherently representing choice advocates

then incoherently to represent anti-choice. I think it makes an interesting composition

and interesting commentary.

Sounds in the advertising field can be a wonderful enhancer to presentations or even actual

ads. In most media other than print, there is an audio element that adds to composition

whether it be a voice over, someone speaking to the audience or simply just music. I think

so of the more memorable ads not only have interesting imagery but interesting audio.

Here is my project!