We’ve seen a big rise in the attention accorded to the ad network model, as evidenced by a significant presence by such networks at this show. In some ways, networks — and I include Google and Overture in my definition of network — are playing an important role in the resurgence of the industry.
But John Battelle, in his talk here and in his blog, brought up a good point — not one for which I have a counterpoint or answer, however. He talked about the role of advertisers as participants in the community formed around publishers and their audiences.
The whole size and scale issue lies behind this problem. Just as a practical matter, advertisers don’t have the bandwith to participate in the micro-communities that build up around blogs, for example. Once you begin to aggregate, you start depending on technology to pick appropriate pages for participation — and sometimes, there’s just nothing like the human touch.