In the last few days at the @d:Tech show in New York, most of the presenters touched on the fact that the web's penetration continues to grow. No one really backed up that statement with any quantifiable proof, so I thought I'd find some for you. As luck would have it, Nielsen//NetRatings has just released its Third Quarter 2001 Global Internet Trends report on Internet access and penetration, finding a total of 474 million people now have Internet access from home. The Q3 results show an increase over Q2 of 14.8 million people with home-based Internet access. …

Well, the biggest show of the season has come to an end. Here's the final roundup. In my humble opinion, the content was strictly average save a few stellar presentations, the exhibit floor was lively and fully reflective of the industry's renewed faith in itself, and all the attendees I spoke with were generally satisfied with the experience. That, of course, doesn't sound like a typical @d:Tech show of years past - compared to the usual glitz and glamour, this one was very sedate. However, we have to remember that we're in the middle of a serious recession and …

The second day has come to an end and, as promised, here are some highlights. Good news -- the exhibit floor finally opened today and it's a sight to see. It is really nice to see that there are hundreds of exhibitors at this conference unlike the several conferences of months past when all of them could have fit into 3 parking spaces. Another encouraging sign is that there are several new companies in attendance - it shows not only that they are obviously fearless to launch at a time like this, but also that the entrepreneurial spirit …

Well, the first day of @d:Tech New York has come to an end and I thought I'd give you a roundup of the day's highlights as I've done in the past. So far, unfortunately, there's not much to report. The day began with a keynote speaker who basically told the audience nothing of major importance, screamed at an audience member, and inspired several online media buyers I spoke with afterwards to seriously reconsider their plans to buy ads on his portal. What should have been scheduled as the opening keynote was Geoffrey Ramsey's presentation that followed on the …

Two leading industry forecasters said today that they expect an upturn in advertising spending by the fourth quarter of next year. At the UBS Warburg media conference in New York, London-based Zenith Optimedia said it had shaved back its forecasts, reducing an expected 2002 decline to 1.3%, but had not made major changes to its outlook. "After three big downgrades in a year, our forecasts have stopped growing gloomier. We expect at least the beginnings of advertising recovery in 2002," Zenith said in its annual report. Zenith is forecasting an 8.7% slide in U.S. spending in real …