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Sources, platforms and databases - Phar

Written by Guillaume Cariou | 7 December 2024

Doing day-to-day intelligence requires a certain familiarity with several types of tools. As watchers, we are confronted with tools that claim to do everything, when in fact they solve only part of our needs or support only a fraction of our approach.

It is therefore important to go back to the basic functions of these tools in order to increase the performance and impact of your vigil.

Sources

  • Sources "produce" content and information that is not processed on a recurring basis.
  • For example, a trade magazine like The Fabricator in the metal fabrication field is going to be a source. Beyond its monthly "print" publication, The Fabricator publishes online articles every day or so.
  • In the same way as a trade magazine, a Twitter account can also be a source, as can a Youtube channel, etc.
  • In addition to constantly seeking out new sources, it's therefore up to you to manage them with a platform as best you can so as not to lose anything in this incessant flood of news we're all confronted with.

Platforms

  • At first, platforms will allow you to "connect" to sources and organize them. They will also enable you to gather information, process it and eventually distribute it.
  • More and more, platforms allow you to integrate external participants and specialists who will come and comment on and improve certain news and information ("curation process").
  • A platform like Cronycle will bring together all these functions.
  • Finally, once processed, commented on and distributed to readers, watch bulletins and their content can be collected in a database.

Databases

  • Databases provide access to information processed and classified by theme, author, etc.
  • As part of a monitoring process, we'll collect commented information in a database like Airtable so we can access it later if needed.

In conclusion, every good watchdog is therefore going to have his or her toolbox, and it's imperative that the watchdog does the "watch of the watch" in order to discover and employ the latest and most effective tools.