Tweet A year ago this week, Professor Ad Man hit the web. What a difference a year makes:

• The site grew from about 35 readers a week to a few thousand.
• Won a few awards along the way.
• Caught the attention of a few people I admire, such as Sally Hogshead and Spike Lee.
• I got other blogging gigs, like Beneath The Brand
• Got a new job and relocated to Chicago.

I see those as blessings in return, because the site was accomplishing its true intention: sharing the info.
I didn't want to do another advertising blog where I just give my opinions about what is good and bad about the industry. If you're interested in being here, then I'll tell you what you need to know. I'll tell you what's worked for me and others to get where we are. Nothing is guaranteed, but maybe I can help with opening a few doors and your creative thinking. I practice what I preach (it's how I ended up in Chicago).

And like I said, more than just family read my blog now. So for my anniversary week, I thought I'd do a "best of" and go into the archives and introduce new readers to posts that got some of the biggest responses. For regular readers, I thought I'd reintroduce you to some important stuff you may have for gotten about.

Today, you may want to check out The Ad Grad Project. Each year, I try to come up with something advertising grads may need to help jumpstart their careers. For 2009, I showed you that you don't need to work at an ad agency to have an advertising job. It's a five-part series. The jobs are no longer available, but the thinking is still valid. Start here The Ad Grad Project: Finding 51 opportunities in five weeks.

In 2010, I asked HR professionals what do you look for in portfolios? Although many agreed to answer my survey, only Rachel Vingsness of Jack Morton really came through for me (thanks again). Frankly, her post would have been a tough act to follow anyway. Check out Ad Grad Project 2010: What Agencies Look For In Your Portfolio.

So I thank you for attending classes. I hope they have been helpful, because I'm just getting started. What would you like to see more of next year?

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.