A look at how web advertising could become more like television and shake up the industry.
While trying out free Internet services Bluelight and Astalavista, I was struck by the issue of targeted advertising. Both of these companies play a video commercial while you are connecting to the Internet. Companies pay for these ads, and they display banner ads while your online. I've heard that banner ads aren't very effective or as effective as TV ads. It seems that these video ads online might help advertisers to reach there audience better. However, even if these ads became like a television and played every ten minutes, advertisers would still know very little about the viewers. Most of these Internet companies ask you to check areas that you are interested in. Many people just check at random, which makes it useless. Others, may check investing or things that they like to do. However, because someone checks that they are interested in sports, does that mean that they will buy sports equipment? No, but they will most likely buy alot of items that they weren't interested in such as food. The credit card is probably a better or the best tabulator for this. However, if the Internet user were willing to sacrifice some privacy by allowing advertisers to have access to viewing habits, such as what sites you visit and how long you stay there, advertising could be targeted specifically to you. So, instead of seeing commercials for diapers, or makeup, you might see ads that are about things that you are interested in and products/services that might help you. And in the process, these ads would be worth more to Bluelight or Astalavista which then might be able to offer you reliable high speed Internet access for free. So, if you want to see all of the computer stuff that I buy or the porn sites that I visit, that is fine by me as long as I benefit in some way. And, this seems better than those grocery cards that monitor your buying habits, because you rarely see the benefits. This brings me to the issue of security and privacy. So many people are paranoid about security and privacy which seems strange to me. Sure, you don't want to give too much information out so that someone could get a credit card in your name, but to have someone look at your buying habits or viewing habits, is that so bad if you both benefit. Sure, you may occasionally have to buy medical products that are embarrassing, but does it really matter? People who make poor decisions or decisions that are poor for ones freewill and health should be concerned about piracy. If you constantly stock up on cigarettes, fatty steaks and beer you might ought to be concerned, because if an insurance company gets hold of your information, it could be bad for your pocketbook if you ever decide to get insurance. Or, if you break laws and are wanted or buy stuff to harm or defraud others, you should be worried as well. Then, a bounty hunter or someone might be able to trace your whereabouts or actions based on your buying habits. There are others that are paranoid about the government and take an "us" versus "them" philosophy. However, I look at the government as "us." "We the people," are responsible for the actions of the government and can play a role in its process. Sure, my views differ at times, from those representing me, but altogether the government does a pretty good job. So, I am still confused as to why everyone is freaked out about privacy. Is everyone unhealthy, thieves, or paranoid about the government or just worried about thieves? Please write me if I am missing something important. Back to the issue, with ads becoming more custom tailored, that should bring up ad prices for customer tailored ads and bring down the costs for non-tailored ads. But, that brings us to another point, what on the web is non-customer tailored? Nearly all websites out their are customer tailored by offering only content in specific areas. Non-tailored advertising might be TV. Sure, you get sports stations and cooking shows that are customer tailored, but for someone watching CBS's "Survivor" show, you can't really figure out who your target customers are without looking at the Neilson ratings. Well, this issue seems too difficult to conquer. "Survivor" caters to everyone, and is generating enormous ad revenues. The advertisers must be looking for large customer base, or must be getting a better bang for their buck. Well, the biggest winner in this is advertising that can generate the best revenue increases for the advertising dollar.
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