29
March
2006
|
15:22 PM
America/Los_Angeles

Did anybody solve my Google atom bomb/treasure hunt riddle?

By Tom Foremski for SiliconValleyWatcher


Atom-Bomb-Redux.jpgMore than a year ago, on February 3 I wrote the this post and it caused a stir in the nascent BlogoSphere. I stated a hypothetical scenario and something which could be one of several flaws in the pay-per-click advertising model--the dominant form of online marketing.


There were quite a few people that didn't understand it, but that was fine because I didn't want to seem as if I were yelling "fire" in a crowded place. The people that did understand it understood the significance of the scenario.


Today there are larger numbers of people that will understand the riddle. And although I use Google as an example, it is not specific to Google, it is something that would affect many other advertising networks.


Here is the original post and I'd be interested in an original solution (I think I have one :-)


Here is the scenario:


A billionaire has arranged to give $100m to the first person that clicks on a special link that looks like a Google text ad.