WAN: User Generated Architectural Resource

WorldArchitectureNews (WAN), billed as the world's leading supplier of news to the global architectural community, is one of the resources I cherish for all things Global Architecture. It's full of news, podcast interviews in mp3, project images, links to architects and lead architectural stories of our times. A great feature is the News In Pictures section. I had never heard of Zaha Hadid before, but after seeing this, I'm now a fan. If you're looking for an education on architecture, or are researching the latest projects on the horizon, this WAN is a great place to start.

Another nice caveat is the fact that their global project database is user generated by member architects who actively build and update the site. WAN offers a RSS feed, but they go a step further and explain what this is if you're a newbie.

(building image in post collage ® Zaha Haid Architects )

Agecy Idol: User Generated Content, Yes or No?

TheMarketingStore's Lombard IL office has a Senior VP and director of direct and relationship marketing named Derek Moore who sees the big picture. He's developed a rather simple venue called AgencyIdol that allows people to join the conversation about user generated content, specifically, three major brand ads for SuperBowl XLI, and produced by normal people. While it appears The Marketing Agency is not one of the agencies working with the brands (I may be wrong), they have still added to the larger conversation in a useful way. I found the Chevy spots and AgencyIdol via their website What'sNew section in an article called "Consumer Generated Ads: Yes or no?" Though this isn't completely new information, it is to me so I though you might also enjoy checking it out.

I specifically enjoyed Chevy's episode 8, of Chevy's SuperBowl College Ad Challenge. This episode chronicles the path the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's freshman Katie Crabb takes on her way to the top, as the overall winner. (See them all here). I had a perma-smile on for the entire episode as her story is told from start to finish. What a great story, and thanks to Derek Moore for creating a site that allows people to discuss the merits of regular people creating and contributing at a high level of creative. Fun.

I find the idea of user generated content rather intriguing, as you'll see from other posts of mine in the past. Judging by the small amount of AgencyIdol comments received, it appears a true dialog was not achieved, but again, TheMarketingStore's actions on behalf of creating a conversation is brilliant. Kudos for the effort.