Ad:Tech, our industry's beloved all-day, all-night schmooze-fest, keeps growing in size while getting more upbeat every year. Red Herring reports that registration doubled, free drinks,
candy, and office items were abundant, and there were more scantily clad girls than ever handing out fliers and coupons from companies you've never heard of. This year the event's keynote, venture
capital partner firm Sequoia Capital, which pumps money into YouTube and other promising Web newcomers, pointed out that if just 20 percent of U.S. retail moved to the Web (which it undoubtedly will
as broadband penetration increases), e-commerce would be worth $1.2 trillion. To put that in perspective, the entire U.S. gross domestic product is about $13 trillion. Other positive signs: of
the 34 Web firms that went public last year, 62 percent were profitable before going public--a stark contrast to the late nineties. M&A activity was understandably a hot topic, with most panelists
agreeing that M&A activity should increase this year and next year, as old media companies decide to buy into new media by acquiring proven companies rather than building their way forward. While
a lot of talk is centered on the Google-Microsoft-Yahoo wars, the other big war bubbling to the surface is between the media majors like Time Warner, Disney, and News Corp. You know these companies
will continue to move into digital territory with their next moves.
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