Columbus Underground

Columbus Underground is a blog created by Walker Evans in November 2001. Evans made the site to get the word out about different events going on around Columbus. The site is a "community-driven resource" that quickly became a popular place to find out what is new and trendy in Columbus. The topics of blog posts grew to cover "local developments, restaurants, politics, civic issues, transit and a range of general interest topics..." about the 15th largest city in the U.S.

The homepage shows the most recent stories, usually one or two posts a day, about various topics. The color scheme is simple yet with a fun skyline picture of Columbus at the top. There is a table of organized subtopics at the top also, making it easy for a site-goer to find what they are looking for. One can contribute their own opinion or review to the blog by simply hitting the submit button in the table.

Does the site have more posts that are advertising or more posts that are reviews? Could these reviews be an effective way of advertising though? How reliable is a community-driven blog?

Adrants

http://www.adrants.comThis blog, titled "Adrants", is a website that is committed to all marketing and advertising news, perfect for what we are studying in our class. It provides insightful, and relevant feedback on the most current and interesting advertisements in the public. It also comments on current trends, and patterns it sees in advertisements of our time, which provides much credibility to the website, showing how "Adrants" keeps up with what's fresh. On top of that, the the site looks at factors that affect advertising strategies, new company campaigns, and viral videos. Overall, it is a site that offers up to date, intelligent advertisement feedback, but in a very trendy way.

"Adrants" presents its most recent advertisement feedback on its home page. And then offers different categories of advertisements presented by different factors on the right side of the site. I found this to be very interesting and organized! Comparing it to "Adverblog", our previous blog assessment, it is way easier to navigate, and a lot more pleasant on the eyes. It also seems as if the site offers every type of advertisement possible. A very nice collection.

What is your opinion of the layout of "Adrants"? Do you think the information following the advertisements is quality feedback?

Candy Blog

“Open your mouth and expand your mind,” is the slogan of Candy Blog. Created in 2006 by candy critic, Cybele May, this blog features reviews of every type of candy possible. The home page of the site is designed in bright cheery colors with various pictures of delicious sweets lining the side columns. The bubbled side boxes contain featured news items and interactive polls. The main persona of the website is lighthearted and happy.

We specifically chose this blog because it does not appear to be a site that is focused around advertising. However, exploring further around the site, one finds that it is a different venue for advertising. The site owner will review candies for fun and certain candies if asked by companies. By simply reviewing them and posting her thoughts, she seems to be providing an outlet for advertising even though it is different than mainstream advertising. Who would be most likely to visit this website? Also, sometimes advertising is not simple commercials on television or pages in a magazine. Where else do subtle, nonchalant advertisements appear? Have advertisements become such a normal part of life, that we don’t notice we are directly viewing them? Is there anything else unconventional or interesting about this site?

Adverblog

The blog we’ve chosen is Adverblog, a blog dedicated to analyzing advertising ideas. The blog has been around since 2003 and has many examples of creative advertising campaigns. The front page has a comprehensive news feed with links to blogs on each individual story.

We thought this blog was particularly interesting because it not only has ad campaigns from this country but from others as well. For example, posted on April 6^th was the Mexican Red Cross’s Fundraising campaign. Were there any entries that you found particularly interesting? Why? Do you think the blog has a good variety of sources?