October 14, 2009 by ggackle
The ability to target advertising has always been a strength of online media. The Google AdWords platform is built on the ability to display those little text ads on search or web pages containing related information. All the better to entice the reader to click on the ads and thus go to a site selling that particular service/product.
The other part of the targeting puzzle has been geographic. For many products and most services, finding a source LOCALLY where you are at the moment is key. Google Maps is an amazing tool for finding local businesses (from restaurants to rental car locations), but the user must help in "targeting" the search by entering his/her location.
So it was surprising to pull up a Bettendorf web site (while on vacation in Florida) and see an AdWord advertisement on the site for a new Florida bank chain. No need to even "tell" Google where I was or to enter any geographic information. It recognized I was accessing the Iowa site from Florida, matching the ad for the content on the site and my specific location.
Amazing and somewhat scary from a big brother perspective.
APPLE, OTHERS DEFECT FROM U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OVER CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION
Disagreement over U.S. Chamber of Commerce's position on federal climate change legislation before Congress has led to the departure of Apple and several utilities from the national business group. Nike, Inc. also resigned from the organization's board of directors over the same issue.
"We would prefer that the Chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis," according to Apple. Among the utilities opting out of the chamber was Excelon Corp., the parent company of Commonwealth Edision. Excelon operates 10 nuclear plants with 17 reactors which represent about 20 percent of the U.S. nuclear power capacity.
Apple recently added an overview of the company's environmental impact on its web site, providing an accounting of its greenhouse gas emissions produced by its manufacturing, shipping and product use.
Exelon's chairman John Rowe this week called on business to get behind the cap-and-trade legislation.
TIME SPENT, AD SPENDING SOARS ON SOCIAL SITES
According to online research firm The Nielsen Company, ad spending on social networking and blogging sites surged from $49 million in August 2008 to $108 million in September 2009.
In step with the ad spending increase was a huge increase in time Internet users spent on social networking and blogging sites, Nielsen said, rising from 6 percent a year ago to 17 percent today. Having teenage children, the 17 percent number seems way on the low side.
