• by March 3, 2006

One of the important developments taking place over the last year in the online advertising business is the market's increasing need and desire to differentiate among ad sales providers. This is a good thing, insofar as it is the consequence of more spending online and thus, more scrutiny. Your column is evidence of this trend. Scrutiny is the operative word, however, and with a bit more I think you, along with your readers, would recognize that not all networks are the same. Some of them--BURST! Media for instance--are actively selling the unique value proposition of online media and providing publishers and advertisers with a fully transparent, fully audited (in our case, by BPA Worldwide for six years in a row) sales environment that exceeds the offering of most online media, including what qualifies as "major" online media.

But, let's be clear: the beast commonly known as the ad network has been fed by the desire, top to bottom, for risk-free advertising. Ultimately, you get what you pay for. Saying "no" to ad networks will not solve the problem. Saying "yes" to value will, which is really the proposal you make at the end. Less can be more. Ad networks can be--and will have to be for many, many passionate Web publishers--part of the solution. But it starts with insisting on a media value proposition worth paying for. Otherwise, I quite agree, the neighborhood slips into ruin.