In September 2006, after a few months deciding if and how i should start blogging, ASourceOfInspiration was born.
Here we are, 500 posts later and a lot has happened. Back then, Twitter was still in stealth mode, Facebook was graduating, Yahoo and MySpace were giants, and the iPhone was yet to be announced. I was still working as Senior Interactive Developer at Draftfcb, with lots of code on my screen and definitely less bald, still deciding what “stuff that matters” i would be working in the years ahead.
The blog started as a small experience on sharing interesting content, with a default theme on the first few months, and then had 2 redesigns, with the “Fresh Grid” theme being the current.

During 3 years, ASourceOfInspiration.com evolved from being just a link blog, to presenting useful digital marketing resources and i’ve started writing long form content, sharing my experience as Head Of Interactive at Draftfcb, where a great team kept delivering great advertising. From a few friends to over 1600 RSS subscribers, more than 10k monthly readers and mentions of some of my favorite blogs, it has been one of my most rewarding personal experiences.

Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without you, dear readers. And might i say, friends. Or followers. Your interest and feedback kept me focused on posting at least twice a week, despite all the buzz around microblogging. Bringing fresh content also helped me keep a critical spirit, learning a great deal about user experience and communities.

Speaking of communities, a big thanks to all Prt.sc members, the best geek bloggers in Portugal. Even if we blog a lot less nowadays, doesn’t mean it’s less relevant, so keep those posts coming. Oh, and @vd and @nloureiro, thanks for the great ride recording Alt.Prt.Sc videocast.
It has been also an honor to be a guest blogger at Osocio.org, with Marc and the rest of the team doing a great job on changing behaviors by showcasing the best social advertising in the world.

Communities were really the big change on digital marketing the past 3 years, being at the core of the Web 2.0 revolution and what is commonly called Social Media. The web is about the people, it has always been, so forget about the latest tech hype and focus on providing a great service to your clients. Treat them as if they were your friends. Be nice and notable.

500 posts later, I’ve changed jobs, being now a Web Strategist at Fullsix, working with an impressive team that produces the best interactive work in Portugal, so expect me to do a lot more of shameless promotions :). I only wished more Portuguese companies would send their work, as it deserves to be recognized, so if you’re heading a digital agency in Portugal my email is armandoalves at asourceofinspiration dot com. We have great work in our country and it deserves to be shared.

Last, but not the least, a treat for readers.
The first 2 comments guessing the most famous post at ASourceOfInspiration.com win the book “Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity” by Hugh McLeod.

Hugh is one of my favorite bloggers, so it fits perfectly to reward those who follow closely this blog with a book about creativity. Thanks all, and let’s hope we all make it until the 1000th source of inspiration.