Sourcing: How to Find the Right Monitoring Sources

Monitoring quality never exceeds the quality of its sources. Before automating anything, build a base of reliable and varied sources.

Start from reference sources

Every field has a few must-have sources: official authorities, trade media, labs, recognized analysts. Start with them, they are your anchor points.

Diversify the types

Good monitoring combines several source types: press, expert blogs, official releases, social networks, video. Each captures a different signal at a different speed.

Qualify before adding

Before adding a source, ask three questions: is it reliable, regular, and does it bring an angle I don't already have? If not, it will only add noise.

Prefer structured feeds

An RSS feed can be monitored automatically, without depending on a platform algorithm. It is the most robust way to follow a source over time.

Review your sources twice a year: drop those that no longer produce anything useful, add the emerging ones.