As one expert sees it, most of the online ad players and publishers still have overly optimistic full-year earnings predictions, which are likely to be cut in coming months. Yes, according to Merrill Lynch's famed analyst Henry Blodget, things are getting worse in the online ad market. In a conference call yesterday, Blodget predicted that online ad revenues will actually decrease 25% during the year. Interestingly enough, two months ago Blodget predicted "modest sequential increases" beginning in second quarter of 2001, but now he says the market won't work itself out until near the end of the year. …

Judging by the number of responses I received to yesterday's Minute, I've certainly hit a nerve with many of our readers. Some took my plea to someone, anyone unbiased out there in the real online ad world to PLEASE tell me the real pros and cons of using larger ad formats as rhetorical. Fortunately, I did receive several dozen real responses, with useful, real- life opinions. Here's a synopsis: THE PLUSES: - Bigger banners are relatively new and like anything "new," larger ad units are getting honeymoon attention both with advertisers and web users who are showering bigger banners …

To everyone's surprise (yes, I am being sarcastic here), the Internet Advertising Bureau today announced that according to their own survey, advertising industry decision-makers "overwhelmingly" support the IAB's recently released guidelines for interactive marketing units (the big banners). As if the obvious conflict of interest is not enough, the results are based on responses of just 78 participants. The IAB said that an "almost unanimous majority" of those surveyed (93% or 73 people) view the new units as "more effective than previous guidelines. The enthusiastic support of the new guidelines by top-level agency representatives is underscored by the number …

Here are some interesting marketing salary stats. Results from the 2001 Marketing Professionals Salary Survey, conducted jointly by the Association for Interactive Media, HeadHunter.net, MarketingSherpa.com and WebSurveyor Corporation, show that 92% of marketing executives responding reported that knowing how to market effectively on the Internet is an important factor to their success. Interestingly, the perceived importance of Internet marketing skills decreased the farther down the organizational ladder the respondent was. For instance, only 34.8% of staff-level employees felt that these skills were critical, but 1 in 4 managers and staff members reported that Internet Marketing was not important. …

Just in case you missed it, the Advertising Council this week presented a study titled "Secrets of Highly Clickable Banners," which defines several important guidelines for increasing Web banner click-through rates. A frequent Internet Top 20 advertiser (think, "Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires,") the Ad Council submitted 93 banners to be analyzed in terms of factors that influence a user to click on a banner advertisement. And, according to the study, a banner ad that adheres to four significant components -- drawing the eye, engaging the mind, creating a desire for more and facilitating action -- will …

Who said the web would hurt television? A new study from Statistical Research shows that broadband Internet access is perhaps the most consistent factor in deepening the connection between television and personal computers -- from use of "enhanced TV" to watching TV programs after learning about them on the Web. The study, titled "The TV/PC Connection 2001" surveyed a sample base of 3,000 to show that 28% of Internet users with high-speed access at home "double-clicked" - used a TV and PC simultaneously - at some point during the day, as opposed to 20% of those with dial-up …

AdSubtract software today announced that it will allow users to block online ads, including new formats that adhere to the IAB's new larger banner ad size guidelines. Thought I'd share with you what Ed English, CEO of interMute, the developer of AdSubtract, said in a statement: "The dramatic increase in banner ad sizes announced by the IAB really surprised us," he said. "Their goal of making the Internet a more effective marketing medium we believe is inconsistent with why people want to use the Web. People are tired of the interruptions and distractions. When it comes to banner ads, bigger …

Here they go again. Jupiter Media Metrix released another report today, which predicts meteoric growth in wireless users over the next 4 years. Right now, wireless users number slightly higher than 4.1 million, and Jupiter says that by 2005 that number will reach 96 million. Forgive the skepticism, but I really think Jupiter's imaginary crystal ball must be broken. As optimistic as I am about technology, I am once again reminded of something Andy Neusner, Producer of Office.com's Ad/Marketing/PR Vertical once said to me about Jupiter research. He said, "While they're smart people, they're pathetically eager to extrapolate …

The Internet ratings report for the week ending February 25 from Nielsen//NetRatings shows that four of the top 10 stickiest sites at home this past week were stock-related financial sites. "Stickiest" refers to the amount of time a website is able to keep its visitors continually surfing. Raging Bull - http://ragingbull.lycos.com - led the way among financial sites with its 138,000 unique visitors spending an hour and 18 minutes surfing the site from home. Traffic to TDWaterhouse.com totaled 155,000 unique visitors who spent an average of 46 minutes on the site, while Schwab.com's 324,000 unique visitors spent more than …

The shows are over, the booths are gone, the attendees and exhibitors have gone home. But one fact remains – Internet advertising cannot and will not survive in a vacuum. The fact that it's only a small slice of the advertising pie is what both the Jupiter conference in New York and especially the AAAA Media convention in New Orleans stressed this week. Is the slice getting bigger? Yes - impressions are still growing, advertising budgets are up, the number of Internet users is up and the amount of time spent online is up. According to Jupiter, the number …