In many ways, buying behavior in paid search resembles the irrational exuberance of online ad buying in the mid- to late-1990s. Something is so frustrating about that. You remember the CEO who insisted, relevant to his business or not, that full-page ads run in The Wall Street Journal on the day of his dot-com product launch? You'll also remember the online marketing director who insisted on home page ads on all the portal sites, targeting be damned. While a good deal of this was driven by the desire for stratospheric stock prices, a good deal of it was contributed …

I ran out to a large supermarket chain the other day to get some last-minute necessities for company. As I was in line I realized I had a store affinity card. It hung next to several keys on my key chain alone. The woman in front of me began to fiddle, jingle, and clatter. I was shocked to find her feverishly going through a key ring of at least a dozen cards. I recognized at least three supermarket chains, a couple pet supply stores, and a whole host of others. Suddenly the express line wasn't so speedy. Instead of 10 …

Ever since I heard Bob Garfield tell us at OMMA West early last month that one of the larger barriers for the Web in this, the new age of media chaos, is the spotty nature of online content, I've put time aside to do something that I hadn't done - literally - in years. I watched serial television on the networks and non-premium cable stations.

I was attending the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) "Thrilla in Phila" conference on Monday at the Philadelphia Convention Center. CTAM holds several cable-centric confabs throughout the year and always puts on a great show. One session, in particular, caught my eye. It was entitled, "Integrated One-Two Punch of Traditional and New Media." The speaker was Peter Sealey, CEO and founder of the Los Altos Group, an adjunct professor of marketing at UC Berkeley and the former CMO of The Coca-Cola Company. As you can imagine, the room was packed and the presentation was thoughtful and right on …

In case you haven't noticed it yet, we are entering into a digital mobile world. I'm in New York this week, taking a little break and observing the "average New Yorker" to see how they interact with technology. Now, it's obvious that the "average New Yorker" is not your average consumer, but they are certainly indicative of where things are headed. We all know the Internet affects our everyday lives, but I like to see how and where there are opportunities for further entrenchment by witnessing how some people, specifically the technologically advanced, are already doing so.

Consumer-generated content has completely redefined what it means to steward a brand in the 21st century. Like it or not, interactive media have made it possible for a brand's assets to be used in ways not easily controlled by the guardians and gatekeepers that traditionally have control over such things. The mere existence of a brand in the 21st century is a license for folks with only a rudimentary understanding of interactive publishing to add to the collective consciousness by exerting their own influence over a brand's assets. (When I speak of "brand assets" here, I mean not only the …

No matter where you look, people are talking about blogging. What are they? Who writes them? Are they credible? Did you hear about the employees that were canned for writing about their fellow employees and the company? Like much of the Web, many companies don't have rules in place for blogging. In fact, blogging took them by surprise. As of recent, many big companies have put rules in place for employee blogging.

Last week, I took some liberties in this space that I maybe shouldn't have.

Growing up in the 70s on Long Island, I had a pretty set after-school routine. Throw my coat over the living room railing, throw my books on the kitchen counter, grab a soda and a big bag of chips or cookies and throw myself on the couch in front of the television set. Most afternoons included "F-Troop," "The Munsters," "I Dream of Jeanie," "Batman," "The Beverly Hillbillies," and of course, "The Addams Family." Most people who know me blame my ADHD personality on the amount of TV I watched as a kid. I'm sure they're right.

Is there a point at which we cannot use more data? Over the last few weeks I've been spending time with clients and discussing different ways to mine their data to find more efficient and effective ways of targeting their customers. Digital media provides us with deeper dives into information than what was ever possible before, and it allows us to target on a more granular level. But, is there a point where the data becomes an obstacle?