• Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, & 100% Sellout
    The online publishing world is becoming more and more data-driven, but past experience and conventional wisdom still greatly influence the strategies of many top media sellers. Conventional wisdom can be useful because it gives us fixed guidelines that allow for rapid decision-making. But every once in a while, it's worth reflecting on conventional wisdom and asking whether tried and true methods are actually outdated myths that may feel right, but actually prevent progress.
  • Former Agency Buyer: 'We Don't Trust 95% Of The Sales Reps Out There'
    This sentence is so eloquently blunt because it delivers a truth many are feeling, but few have the courage to share aloud. Upon hearing these words directly and in private last week, I deleted the column I was working on and started this one.
  • A Cautionary Tale Of Selling Your Soul
    Hi, I'm Bryan and I'm a recovering journalist. They say you sell your soul when you move from journalism to advertising. I sometimes wonder if that's true. I've been writing for public consumption for a long time. Started on the school newspaper in high school. Continued to write, became an editor and even started my own publication in college. Went to work for the Ventura County Star straight out of school covering the cops and courts beat. With a brief hiatus, I've been writing ever since. That's why it makes me sad to see journalism pros following the lead of …
  • 2014: The Year Mobile Kills More People, While We Sell More Ads
    Our industry trades have been filled with predictions for the new year. One that caught my eye was from Google's Eric Schmidt, who announced that in 2014 mobile "has won." Here is a prediction about mobile that will be more accurate than Schmidt's, one that industry pundits will never share: In 2014, more people will die because of their mobile devices.
  • Improving Content Marketing, For Publishers & Marketers
    The hullaballoo surrounding content marketing in 2014 is nearly deafening (yes, an exaggeration). In 2013, when content marketing became the latest-and-greatest buzzword, marketers and publishers flocked to develop easily digestible content and revamped their SEO tactics in a no-holds-barred attempt to outflank competitors.
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