• by Masha Geller , April 16, 2001

Once everyone's favorite buzzword, convergence is no longer the stuff of dreams. The Internet has blurred many lines between different media, and that's good news because with every blurry line, we get yet another ad vehicle. Some work and some don't, but almost all are worth a try.

To that end, (and this is not an endorsement, just something I stumbled upon in my inbox) Ten Square, a Silicon Valley company, is making interactive advertising accessible to everyday life - one gas pump at a time.

Point-of-sale (POS) advertising is one of the oldest concepts in the book, and Ten Square is an interactive point-of-sale broadcasting and publishing company that enhances point-of- sale transactions with interactive ads, making even the shortest consumer transactions - like a two-minute trip to the gas station or the ATM - valuable to advertisers.

During idle time at gas pumps, ATMs, kiosks, credit card readers etc., consumer can choose valuable promotions for local and national online and offline retailers. According to company officials, by the end of this year, over 30 million people across the country will be active users of the Ten Square Digital Network, at thousands of gas stations, convenience stores and bank ATMs across the country.

Will advertisers bite? Probably, but in today's climate I know better than to forecast the future. I was the one who thought AdFlight and eMadison (both online ad exchanges) would be flying high by now, only to find out last week that eMadison has run out of money and AdFlight is "no longer active."