Apologies to those who have witnessed this in person, but more than a few karaoke bars have seen me grace the stage over the years. Nobody -- and I mean, NOBODY -- has ever mistaken me for Bon Jovi. It's not just because my voice is terrible (which it absolutely is). The truth is that even guys who can hit the notes are never mistaken for the real thing. They can sing the lyrics and even wear the clothes, but nobody is fooled. It just feels different. Unfortunately, karaoke is the state of much native advertising today. It's no wonder. …

Native advertising is for real. It has increasingly become a focal point of our industry over the past three years, and now represents billions of dollars in media spend. Given native's growing prominence, MediaPost has dedicated a column entirely to the subject, with the intention of presenting a centralized forum for a diverse set of respected industry voices.