• by Jeff Minsky , January 14, 2002

Now that 2001 is blissfully over, I cannot help but add to the cadre of top ten lists with a few thoughts of my own:

10. I am grateful for the knowledge that despite the bursting of the Internet Bubble, the industry continues with greater wisdom and respect for all the players who are truly committed to this endeavor.

9. I am grateful that despite the bumps in the road with @Home and some DSL providers, that Broadband penetration continues to accelerate.

8. I am grateful that the industry has come together in good faith, from both the buyer and seller sides, to negotiate a fair and equitable Terms and Conditions. I am hopeful that the final version will be completed soon; despite the lawyers.

7. I am grateful that the industry seriously discussed the issues of impression definition and media relativity (TRPs). I am hopeful that in 2002 we will have a firm definition of an impression that will be agreed upon by all and will truly reflect a better definition than the ones used in the traditional media world.

6. I am grateful that Account Management and Clients are beginning to understand that Interactive does not equal "Banner Campaign." Whether it's Branding Vehicles like Eyeblaster, eyeWonder, or Lightningcast or other techniques such as Search Engine Optimization, the palate of options has multiplied and the technologies "debugged" to the point where their proliferation will continue with confidence.

5. I am grateful that while the naysayers took the Stock Market correction to mean that the medium was not real, users thought otherwise with the largest number of U.S. users in November and a very strong holiday season for e-tailers.

4.I am grateful that Major Web Sellers, i.e. AOLTW, MSN, Yahoo! finally realized that the Agency does not exist to "slow things down", but to insure a successful advertising program which in turn will buy them long term customers. We finally saw respectful interaction begin to happen with large Portals. There is still a long way to go, but an effort was started and hopefully will continue in 2002.

3. I am grateful for AOL for allowing their users to receive HTML email. Email is and will be the driving force of Interactive Marketing and rich email will bring us even closer to the ability to create helpful and interactive tools for the consumer. AOL version 6.0 and 7.0 allow for 33MM subscribers and close to 70 MM users to share in this experience.

2. I am grateful that Jupiter Media Metrix has taken steps to improve their definitions and sample makeup. Too often clients and Wall Street have based decisions and valuations on numbers that were not clearly understood and not representative of the way marketers look at things. It is good to see JMM taking this seriously, and the impending merger with NetRatings should give us a reliable and large sample.

1. I am grateful that none of my loved ones and friends were anywhere near the World Trade Center on September 11. I am equally grateful to know that the NYPD and NYFD are the finest and bravest in the world. God speed to all those who had to get through some very rough times in 2001. We will overcome.

- Jeff Minsky is Vice President, Director of Media Convergence at RappDigital Direct in New York