Over the past two years, my major project vis a vis industry standards has been standardization of Online Reach and Frequency tools. For more background on this, see my string of articles on MSN Advantage or, if your company is a member of the ARF, get a copy of the circulation draft of the ARF Online RF White Paper.

As those of you who work at or near big full-service media shops, this week the television upfront began. And boy, what an upfront it is shaping up to be.

Advertising futurists have consistently pointed to increasing accountability in campaigns. The growth of online advertising and its deepened levels of accountability have foreshadowed this impending change for more than a few years now, as has the growth of direct mail and (unfortunately) telemarketing. Now that more advertisers are starting to ask to see tangible results of their advertising, we are also beginning to see the evolution of some of the other more traditional forms of advertising into a hybrid accountability that did not previously exist.

For an example of how two types of companies can look at a market completely differently, look no further than the ad sales divisions of paid search players as they compare to other top sites trying to sell Internet advertising.

Whoa, I just came back from some of the upfronts and I'm beat. What an experience. For those of you who weren't there or don't go, I figured I'd give you a (cynical) peek inside the tent.

The nut we online media and marketing types have been trying to crack for a good number of years now is how to get general marketing advertisers to spend more money on online media.

You've got to hand it to the folks in Cupertino. It's not been very long since Steve Jobs announced that Apple was getting into the music business, and about two weeks after its launch, the cool ads are already airing during the NBA playoffs.

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

Over the past few years, we've learned to vilify risk aversion. We thought that brand managers and VPs of marketing on the client side weren't willing to risk their necks to make an investment in an unconventional medium.

It seems there has been a lot of conferences, dinners, round table discussions, leadership forums, and the like lately. Having missed a few due to the demands of new business pitches, I feel like the poster child for the sign of the times. It's tough out there. Wouldn't you agree?