The new media needs new types of innovation--not more banner ads

By Tom Foremski - December 6, 2005

By Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher

ZDNet, where I now also blog, knows how to monetize my work. I'm useless at it, or perhaps just squeamish: I just can't bring myself to turn on the banner ads, the flashing ads, the ads that burst onto your screen if you accidentally mouse over to an interesting headline.

And then you have to find out where to click to close the annoying advertisements, so that you can see the news story under it.

It's too much work, too many clicks for the reader. I hate it, so why should I subject my readers to it?

You will not see (much of) such crude commercialization here. I'm resisting the ad networks, the Google AdSense, the Yahoo publisher network, and, a plethora of other advertising and RSS networks that are springing up faster than ever. I will work with some of the ad networks but I am picky.

Green Links

You will begin to see more ads on SVW, because my landlord says he needs to eat. I told him he looks a lot better having lost a few pounds, and he says he feels better too and has more energy.

But he says his mortgage banker needs to eat (ah, the tangled monetary web that we weave...)

Innovative Sponsors Needed

When it comes to advertising, I'd rather work with companies that would like to be innovative, try different things, and I've got a ton of ideas and challenges if that sort of thing appeals to you.

For example, let's turn the space occupied by a banner advert into something different, something useful. I don't know what that might be yet, but I have some ideas, and you have some too--that's where the innovation comes into play.

Are you feeling innovative? Call me, my cell is four one 5 33 six 7547.

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Here is my ZDNet blog.



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By Tom Foremski - December 6, 2005 | Permalink | Comment | Category: About SVW
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Comments (4)

Ted Rheingold:

I've found that, for the most part, asking advertisers to be creative is akin to telling them what they are doing is wrong. This is just a quick way of saying that I've found that if you want advertisers to do something different, you have to come up with the ideas, develop samples and try to sell it everytime you are discussing strategies with new advertisers.

Posted: December 7, 2005 1:44 PM

Tom Foremski:

Ted, you make an interesting point. I'm hoping, however, that the innovative, creative advertisers/communicators will be the succesful ones and the pack will follow the leaders.

Also, I think the split between advertising and communications will go away in some companies and in some markets. The goal of a company is to sell its products/services, not to buy advertising or news/feature stories about itself (that's what PR companies are hired to do.)

There is a more efficient way to sell products/services than in those traditional ways.

Posted: December 7, 2005 3:35 PM

bmacwire:

What is your beef w/ Google Ads? Inquiring minds want to know...

Posted: January 3, 2006 9:15 AM

Tom Foremski - Silicon Valley Watcher [TypeKey Profile Page]:

That's exactly the point...there is no beef in Google AdSense :-)


[thank you, thank you, thank you!]

Posted: January 4, 2006 4:28 AM

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