By my count, there have been only three great sins by online publishers.The original sin occurred at online publishing's genesis in the HotWired offices almost two decades ago: the concept of the banner ad.

I am in awe of the intelligence of those working in the automated buying space. I get how much they care about improving the online display ad business, and I understand the unique benefits this advancement in technology delivers. I also see a fundamental problem being swept under the rug. Programmatic buying via ad exchanges only works for buyers (and related facilitators); it doesn't work for premium branded publishers.

I'll cut to the chase: this will be my final article for MediaPost. The truth is, I can't believe I made it this far. Four years ago, my good friend (and great writer) Ari Rosenberg asked me to write a guest column. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but for whatever reason, my article resonated, and our editor asked me if I would contribute monthly. I agreed, and promptly spent the next four years pissing off various industry leaders by challenging some of their insane ideas. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun.

The cloud, the airwaves, the cable wires and even printed pages will be full of Facebook obsession for the next few weeks as the media obsesses over the market certifying the new billionaires and centi-millionaires as Facebook goes public. We'll be subject to endless recounting of how Facebook has become a utility for 800 million of the earth's population, and how Facebook is utilizing the many forms of information it gathers to draw advertising dollars. So I offer you some thoughts, not on Facebook, but on what you might see in the future if you could see or hear through …

Question from a salesperson: I work for a large multimedia company. During one of the most competitive times of the year, I was assigned a new account. To make a good impression, I put the inventory the agency wanted on hold for almost three weeks -- but when the launch date approached, they bailed on the buy. I guess I understand that this happens, but now I'm getting reamed internally. What is the best way to handle this? How can I know if a buyer is worth her word?