Are you connected?

Convergence is to me the heart of the semantic web 3.0. It is where we move beyond social media into a personal digital space that permeates our social environment – whether global or local. It is about creating time, philosophies, and ideals and developing conversations around things that matter the most to individuals, and in turn teaching advertisers how to embrace this effectively. It is not about selling, it’s about developing relationships and conversations. Building a global infrastructure will help facilitate this.

This video form Microsoft shows their vision of the here and now in how to cross socio-political borders.

By Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions

Ditch the Digital

Well as of last night, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions became the all new streamlined “Microsoft Advertising”. With Steve Ballmer predicting that advertising will be 25% of all Microsoft’s revenue before too long, it is no wonder they wish to be champions of the converging world. Focusing on the emergence of a mobile revolution bringing a more continuous and personal web in your hands, and certainly a more dynamic content experience in your living room through IPTV, this blur between /offline is well and truly growing. The whole world is becoming digitally enabled. I guess it’s a bold move for a brand who wants you to “think advertising (in all its forms) – think Microsoft”.

We pushed to lose “New media” as time unfolded once before. I for one no longer think on and offline distinction is so relevant either – shall we go the whole hog and ditch the word “digital”?!

Microsoft certainly think so.

The Nazi state of Britain

I feel the need to rant.

Waking up this morning’s headlines has just turned my stomach. Nothing to do with the affects of the night before – it is something far more sinister, subtle and persuasively permeating at work. Like a virus praying on its host, destroying the very fabric of being, so we find that MPs have voted in favour of allowing the creation of human/animal hybrids.

The proposed bill was on the monitor in the House of Commons as we sat their debating legislation of online advertising last week. I could not help wonder if I was sitting in the wrong room.

Flying in the face of 21 states who have outlawed such meddling with human life as Frankensteinian, even the scientists are split as to whether rejecting this bill really would stifle progress. There are after all no promises of cures, no matter how desperate those who are feeling the pain over loved ones long for one. Desperate emotions are no basis for law, Mr. Brown, even if we empathise with the plight of your child. Creating and killing another life to save the former is not an acceptable mode of operandi.

But it does not end here. Apparently children do not need a father, as it is looking likely that a consideration of one should no longer be a consideration in IVF clinics. Does that mean I can claim state redundancy pay for being obsolete? As a man who despite past struggles, can now relish in hindsight at the input of my own father over the years, I for one take serious offense at this. Despite the many great things women find themselves having to endure and often do so remarkably, the essence here is that I find it an assault on my very manhood and all that it stands for. Two heads are always better than one. It is also a further commitment on a slope towards greater chaos on social disorder.

The very sanctity of life is at stake here. None more so blatant than on the same front page of the hybrid vote on the Daily Mail we have a story about a ‘vicar’s daughter killed fleeing bullies’ as she finds herself falling out of a roof apartment. This would seem to be the logical conclusion of an un-parented (or certainly soft-parented) and chaotic generation. Whatever is right for me is right it would seem, despite the evidence showing the opposite. Schools blaming parents, parents blaming schools. Political correctness is nothing more than a cop out for people with no balls, as it seems as though spineless eunuchs now rule the roost. Someone needs to take a grip and say ‘it stops here and now’, whether in the family home or in society in general.

Oh that this same vicar would find his faith strengthened despite such appalling circumstances and rise up to take a stand and offer moral guidance on such a wayward state. Clearly those in charge are no longer capable. Reverent Boxhall, we need you. This world needs fathers!

Natural selection and theories of evolution from apes leads man to assume he is capable of being God – a very graven idol indeed. Coming from a design background myself and knowing the painstaking processes it is to develop even the simplest piece of artwork, for some to say on presentation of my efforts ‘ah it was all just coincidence’ or something equally trite would leave me feeling very insulted. I would think twice about accepting commission from that client again. Man may be able paint the colours on afterwards, but only God can bring them from within. If God has indeed left, I suggest it was us who pushed Him away.

As a marketer who himself is at loggerheads with mere consumerism for the sake of it, yes I feel a level of social responsibility and heed the ramifications of all this from every angle. As a prophet and an evangelist, I can foresee where all this is heading and feel the need to speak out.

Don’t get me wrong, we all have a job to do. Mine is to connect the needs, wants and desires with those whom offer solutions – and to do so better – but in context. After all, barter and trade is as old as them hills. Yes I want progress but at what cost? I want to see my clients make money and see technology deliver better experiences for the user, viewer and consumer alike. But that is a far cry from saying anything goes in the name of greed and promotion of a lie that this product will promise you everlasting happiness. The whole reason for self-regulation groups like Advertising Standards Association is to have some kind of thermometer to bring balance back to those who would be less scrupulous in their endeavours to make a fast buck. Money is not evil, it is merely a root that feeds a corrupt heart.

When I stand back, I see that consumerism and moral decline seems go hand in hand, as if one attempts to satisfy the other – yet all tempered in the name of political correctness… most of the time you can interchange the word selfishness. Seemingly political correctness extends to growing another child to hack to bits if needs must for a former child, but to speak out against this makes you less of a caring parent?! How twisted. Don’t dwell on it though; think about your new Hi-Def TV instead…

Take a good, long honest look people at this world we are creating, because we have been here before.

Experiments with human life and ID cards to identifying individuals into target groups was something that came to define the Nazi state. Both seem to now to be socially acceptable and happening at lightning speed under government approval. Morals and ethics are continually downplayed behind selfish greed. It is also a prediction of the end of mankind – what it means to be human – backed by a fearful man projecting those fears to a nation to cause a chain reaction that was and will be more horrific then Hiroshima. Am sure the unsettled Hitler youth did not foresee Auschwitz. So what exactly have we learned, other than justification?

We can all make excuses for our actions. It takes bollocks to admit your faults. Prime Minister ‘Mengele’ Brown, you’ve spent my pension, seek to track and video record my life and now you want to play with my unborn kids. Your legacy on our country is that you have made the very rivers of life we drink the same colour as your muddied name.

No wonder my stomach is sick…

Google sees ad sense

From garage start-up to global brand, the now monolith of Internet dominance has come under incredible scrutiny over recent times, and none more so then since acquiring leading ad serving company Doubleclick last year for $3.1Bn. The tactical move was to seek to control the lion’s share of online display as well as search advertising and media attention over antitrust concerns was rife, especially as privacy groups pushed the issue of data retention and ownership to reach the heights of the European Commission.

Now just over a year later, in what may be seen as a remarkable turnabout face by some, Google has decided to open up their Content Network to accept online display advertising served by third-party ad servers; companies who would very much be competitors in this space to DoubleClick.

Expert data analysis is a key aspect for most advertisers and their respective agencies, affording unique insights into building more effective and relevant advertising messages to their audiences. This makes media agencies irreplaceable in the advertising making process. Google’s previous policy seemly did less to support the agencies’ role as much as did attempted to solidify DoubleClick’s. This had become a major concern of many media agencies and sparked fears that existing agency models were in jeopardy.Their role as media planners and buyers was potentially downplayed in favour of ease of entry and to advanced optimisation. But, alas , it appears Google has seen the light.

The industry has remained decidedly inventory-agnostic from an agency perspective, with independence in ad serving often a key aspect for choosing a potential vendor, brought about partially by having a comparison for delivery outside of a publisher’s control. The additional outlay for ad serving is outweighed by potential overall media costs saved – it is an external checkpoint for actual delivered inventory. That is to say nothing of the additional benefits competitive vendors bring to this space from service to innovation. All this has been a hard position for Google to find themselves in, as it was their very openness that helped them build up their search dominance in the first place.

In truth, the move by Google to open up its network is not just to address agencies concerns, but fuelled in part by a desire to capitalise on revenue streams that are currently blocked. Many advertisers would have overlooked the benefits of reach afforded by Google’s Content Network due to existing preferential relationships with ad serving companies other than DoubleClick, especially with providers who service the more interactive formats that rich media offers. A potential Microsoft-Yahoo relationship – both of whom are open to external ad serving suppliers – will also have prompted a rethink in strategy within the Google camp.

Just as Google could foresee the fall outs over data retention and quickly moved to limit the length of time it would store data, so once again we see an incredibly tactical decision to compete against Microsoft’s competition in the advertising space by too opening up their network. With Eyeblaster, the largest global supplier of rich media online now approved by Google, we can expect to see more interactive ads driving actual conversions within banners running across their network, which will continue to help monetise the long tail. The result is good for the entire industry.

Google has always been very effective at reducing the barriers to entry in online advertising and simplifying the buying process. This latest move today ensures such continued openness will no doubt be seen as a welcome addition to the media mix as well as an incredible confidence boost by most agencies that no longer need to fear for their lives.

Blink and you’ll miss it…

This may raise your blood pressure or cause you to break into a cold sweat – at least that is what Disney is hoping for. They are about to investigate biometric measurements in advertising.

“In a controlled living room setting, scientists will measure heart rate and skin conductivity and track the gaze of participants who are exposed to new ad models over the Internet, mobile devices and TV screens.”

Disney to create laboratory to test high-tech advertising for ABC, ESPN

I wonder if they will go onto develop mobile advertising on the iPhone to be linked to your heart rate in the same vein as a iPod and Nike Air trainer?

“You are feeling hot, go buy a lucozade. Click here for directions to nearest store, at your current pace will take you only 32 seconds…”

Let’s get engaged

When I was a teenager I remember some girls at school sporting rings to show they were engaged. They had no real intention of getting married, despite their starry eyed dreams of one day being a princess; engagement was merely to offer some kind of handle to their insecurity as opposed to any real mature commitment.

Commitment, now there’s a thing. I remember my grandma once talking about it. Yet far from being old fashioned, isn’t that the real intention behind advertising – to drive some kind of commitment towards a brand from their consumer? Or has this too really become a thing of the past, favouring flighting fancies instead brought about like a bad episode of Sex in the City?

Cutting through all the Amercanism behind ‘engagement’ being bandied around as a proposed equal term for interaction, what we find is a panic-stricken way of justifying falling click through rates. However, I think it is being adopted with all the lustre of insecure teenage girl without any real substance or understanding of real-life experience – and to all these people I want to say one thing to you – bring back ‘courting’!

Think about it. Way before we can even talk about engagement comes the flirting.

Their eyes met across a room and a smile formed on her lips. He acted a fool, miming amusing gestures and the smile became a giggle. He walked over and made some cheeky comment and the giggle became a laugh. It is then that he gets the chance to offer to buy her a drink or ask her to dance… let alone a date.

Now, isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

Engagement is not synonymous with interactivity. Engagement is the chemistry, the emotional connection, the mental appreciation of something way, way before the touchy-feely bit. Surprisingly, yes this can be tracked online – indeed it has been for years – post impression is the industries way of trying to tangibly measure this, i.e. someone saw something, and made a mental connection to follow up within a certain timeframe.

For too long we have been banging on about clicks and now I am seeing “pay per engagement” as some kind of commercial solution to the waning results afforded by pay per click, but yet again the industry is starting off down another dead-end road.

I want to see user journeys realistically evaluated – do I see therefore I click, do I see therefore I interact or do I see therefore I search? Who knows, I may do all of the above depending upon my mood and requirements whilst allowing time for my feelings and knowledge to develop a long way in advance for building up rapport direct with a brand.

Time. After all, you are not supposed to dive straight in there to declare undying love – people need time, and for good reason.

If you are not already, then familiarise yourself with the work of Robert Heath and his discussions on “Low Level Processing” and how this impacts advertising. Let me summarise for you. It was perceived you could never build a brand through print because it is predominantly a response medium, but Stella Artois turned this theory on its head when they built their brand through print. Basically they took how to measure TV and applied same analysis to print. What they did was demonstrated that the last 50 years of advertising was quite possibly the wrong way. It was only discovered in 2001.
What the study showed was that people do not ‘consciously’ take in the message, but any effect happens because of different part of brain takes it in, so this is not as easily measured as once assumed.

Now from a digital advertiser’s perspective, my point of view is this, if people do not take in immediately, you can’t expect them to react immediately – therefore difficult to measure immediately (i.e. clicks or interactions) but you could pick them up later – and hence post-impression. In fact a study Eyeblaster did proved just this – that conversions were 4:1 more likely to happen as a result of seeing an ad then actually clicking on an ad.

As Heath says, “low involvement does not translate to low impact – just more subtle!”

This is naturally enhanced from an advertiser’s viewpoint by the power of rich media at creating a more impacting stop-and-think message on screen. I’m talking catch her eye, make her smile.

Colour/placement will have an effect; different creative’s will have effect; different request upon the consumer – to remember (brand) or perform action (response) – but these effects may be relational to where the consumer was at any given moment in time and therefore not as influenced directly by the immediacy of advertising as traditional marketers would have us believe. Robert Heath’s theory of ‘the hidden power of advertising’ discusses low involvement processing of consumers who are who are more emotionally than cognitively charged in terms of decision making. It is tapping in to the realms of experience and emotion than knowledge that produces the greatest impacts, which puts ‘and now the science bit’ of the advert into a much smaller chunk of the effects of the consumer than previously thought.

Ken Kaess, CEO DDB Worldwide elaborates, “following Heath’s theory, instead of focusing on what people tell us directly about a product or commercial, new techniques will need to focus on the emotions and associations a brand communication taps into.”

And how will we do that? By bringing search into the mix of data analysis alongside display whilst tracking the viral affects of social media. Convergence. In the same way the girl may do a bit of detective work about the guy before committing to a date, so online we may see something that provokes interest, we may flirt and interact, then we may go research or chat on forums and talk with friends and build up a picture – and I can do that all before I go to an advertisers site. Let’s face it, just as some girls would never go back to a guys place and prefer to stay in public, so we too need to be prepared for the fact they may never show up on the advertiser’s site (they may go direct to another shop) and therefore never be picked up by post-impression or post-click tags. I wonder how many items are bought on Amazon without the user ever going to the manufacturer’s website – let alone a campaign microsite? Oops, did I just hear that you just spent your profit margin on a microsite? My condolences.

We need to stop being frightened about asking big questions. What was that initial emotional trigger – and can it be tracked across subsequent movements? That’s the real heart of the digital user experience and a truer definition of engagement, something that will lead to a decision making commitment. Not some new fangled trendy co-habitation, jumping in and out of bed and then justifying it like Peter Stringfellow. I want to see results, real results. Long-term lasting results; loyalty, retention, advocacy. I want those consumers to go on to become parents who spawn children equally stable with the brand, and then become grand-parents.

So not let’s build up yet another learning and justification to undo for advertisers. It’s time we learnt from the past and the mature amongst us need to lead by example.

In this new world of two-way social communication with consumer-control, we need to learn to respect their equal rights. Don’t palm off interaction as engagement. It’s about time advertisers stopped preaching with the arrogance of the past, fuelled by some new floored justification purported by certain vendors and agencies. It’s time they got some good-old fashioned values back, and got down on one knee.

And yes, please, bring back courting…

Online advertising is in the House

Sitting in the debate “Legislation cannot secure high standards in commercial communications online” in the House of Commons last night, it was an interesting evening to see what the UK parliamentary role should be within the online advertising industry. Thankfully not too much, was the conclusion!

The argument against the motion was based around examples of child pornography and how the government needed to have some kind of enforcement policy – irrespective of whether this flew in the face of freedom of speech. After all, no one wants a replication of a China-style control over information. From BT’s Clean Feed programme to filter explicit content, to the Natwest Three who were extradited from the UK, to the Council of Europe’s Treaty of Cyber Crime… but as the opposition stated, this is all a content-related argument and nothing to do with advertising per se.

Pushing for self-regulation, sighting the IAB and ASA as prime examples, the argument for the motion was that advertisers and consumers alike will not tolerate any irresponsible behaviour; whether violent, sexual, advocating obesity or children focussed, let alone privacy. Innovation will undoubtedly make mistakes, Facebook and BNP come to mind, but as was shown, the industry is quick to respond to peer pressure and is in their interest to do so – after all money talks. Only gambling content could legitably be argued in terms of legislation around online commercialisation.

A couple of points I stood up to raise were based around the rate of change and international boundaries.

As technology moves on at an alarming rate, e.g. discussions around mobile advertising, and how search on mobile will relate to IPTV and eBillboard display advertising – how can we predict, let alone legislate around such innovations? Can the Data Protection Act cope with modern advertising methods, for example define “opt-in”. Are we talking pure data-capture? Click on ad? What about an intentional roll-over? – I could argue the latter is a potential opt-in too.

What about watching content I have stored on my PVR or downloaded music I have bought and placed on a Media Centre in UK that I access via Slingbox in hotel room in Frankfurt? What about relevant HSBC ads displayed in Cantonese to a Hong Kong tourist travelling through the London underground? Where do international boundaries start and finish in age of personalisation and relevance?

Can legislation really cope with such advancements in a succinct and timely manner?

Interestingly behavioural targeting was only hinted at and not discussed further, as to this end legislation may certainly need to help define, if not dictate modes of operation. Does advertising to and personal relevance become a matter of national security in being able to track individuals – duping individuals to feel in control whilst orchestrating a back door ID card? No doubt this will become a topic for further debate of which I will ensure I have a voice.

Middle Eastern Promise

With what can often feel like so much negativity in the western media around the Middle East, it has been a real pleasure to firsthand experience and report on some incredibly positive experiences we are seeing in this region.

Having just returned from speaking at conferences in both Turkey and a central Arabic gathering in the Egyptian Red Sea – the latter where over 250 clients and agency representatives gathered in an auditorium from 14 countries across GCC/Middle East from Pakistan to Maghreb – what has struck me most of all is their general openness and willingness which only equals their hospitality.

Whether positivity in this region is induced by the glorious surroundings and often lavish entertainment – and judging by weather here in London at the moment, the sunshine sure does make for a more pleasant working day – it would seem obvious from various meetings and discussions there is a genuine hunger for innovation across the Middle East.

Infrastructure

Perhaps being stifled for so long by infrastructure limitations from a bandwidth perspective, complemented by an often stark distinction between the social classes, with just shy of 10% average of people with dedicated Internet access. So it is good to see their respective governments facilitating public areas and cafes for internet usage, often with a dedicated and free support person on hand to assist with anything from basic internet usage to filling in governmental forms online. Coupled with the speed of uptake for online banking, seeing the population shift to be able to get information and governmental help at the touch of the button will no doubt revolutionise many people’s lives in this area. It is certainly working in India and Pakistan where 30-40% population are now accessing online content.

Infrastructure will also make a hugely positive step as many cities are considering opening up wireless as key infrastructure change no doubt to take advantage of the many low-cost basic laptops now hitting the markets.

Environmental experience

But what about the users themselves? In Turkey alone the term messenger is synonymous with the Internet itself, with 99% of all Internet users communicating via Windows Live messenger – often with video sharing applications, which quite frankly leaves the west behind in terms of advancement of communication interplay, and this is a trend being seen right through the region when you bring Hotmail into the mix. That is to say nothing of the growth and adoption of social media sites like Facebook in this area, which is being adopted at different speeds in the markets across the region. National press are often main jump points to receive online news and content, to couple key portal entry points like those offered by MSN. In fact in Turkey the pride of the press runs so high, the Milliyet group in Turkey have a huge billboard outside their offices displaying the real time number of hits to their homepage, watching the counter turn from around 15MM to 0 as it resets at the stroke of midnight has got to be on the sight-seeing agenda for any tourist to Istanbul. Certainly seemed to me to be a perfect example of cross-channel convergence, and aids confidence that the Internet really can draw an offline crowd.

Growth of online advertising

In places like Dubai, television and outdoor are still major factors of any marketing mix with the effects of online advertising still not reaching the CEOs and CFOs, preferring to see their advertising expenditure in places they themselves are exposed to, which reminds me of where the west was only a few years ago before the marketers managed to pitch assurance and ROI to director level. It is just a matter of time, and I hazard a guess will happen much quicker than in the west judging by user’s hunger to get involved with the online space.

Though with huge budgets at their disposal and a real desire to be innovative and world leading – just consider their architectural achievements – in demonstrating the creative possibilities to eager audiences alongside David Pugh-Jones, MSN’s Creative Strategist, feedback from clients and agencies alike was very commendable. Obviously revealing a tangible reality for possibilities they can adopt right now – they are used more to region stats as way of encouragement as opposed to innovative thoughts and practical ideas. With the backing of an incredible sales house such as LinkdotNet/ConnectAds, hopefully by now helping inspire confidence, I fully expect to see some very grand and illustrious creative examples coming from this region very, very soon.

But are they ready?

Personally I think this is a very interesting and exciting marketplace – they are ripe for interactive and have obvious budgets to invest. Digital is obviously currently perceived as not impactful, despite users showing they are highly interactive. Talking with financial clients seeing an alarming rate of adoption of online banking certainly backs this up. I believe agencies in the region can assist clients circumvent the filtration of advertising seen in the west, not having been saturated with the likes of pop-up ads. They are jumping in at the point of quality executions without the hard learning curve we have worked through.

Last year I was involved with a hugely successful and innovative Sony Ericsson campaign for launching the k500i across the CEEMEA markets (that is excluding the large western countries); utilising photo uploads, dynamic data feeds and behavioural sequencing to personalise subsequent creative’s across the online channels. The idea was to extend reach of online beyond the browser to retarget users using desktop applications. Not only is this campaign at the forefront of what can be achieved online, but the results revealed it was the Middle Eastern regions who were the most active interactors as well as those most likely to recommend the campaign to their friends, as proved by the number of message forward from within the banner themselves. A third of the registered users who were re-targeted went on to tell their friends, setting a new benchmark for advertising effectiveness. The communication environments of both Messenger and Hotmail coupled with the right type of creative will see not only data capture but also a viral affect – I will be keen to see the affect of widget ads in this region!

For anyone considering the Middle East as proposed area to place on a multi-national media plan – I would encourage you to just go for it – feel free to push the envelope – you will be pleasantly surprised by the results and quality of response. For those already working this area, I would say hang on to your hats, you are about to strike oil my friends…

Microsoft Apple beware - the people are coming to get you

In true Blue-Peter stylee, here is social networking at its best. Like a slingshot in David’s hand against Goliath, check out this amazing video on how to create your own Micorsoft Surface replica…

Now if we can get this into a matchbox, we have the basics of an iPod Touch!

How to Make a Cheap Multitouch Pad

Widgets, widgets everywhere…

Let’s face it, rather than merely intruding into a conversation uninvited, being able to join in with the dialogue and stimulating further discussion has got to be the essence of embracing social media, especially from an advertising perspective.

Advertisers are desperate to converse within social media, but despite the appeal, sticking ads against personal pages is not going to cut it, we need to grass roots infiltrate and then measure the effect.

Web 2.0 is all about conversation – two-way – and from a brand’s perspective this can be a daunting prospect when they are not used to such succinct feedback. What started with Amazon’s customer’s reviews has given rise to questions about merely placing ads on social networking sites. Intrusion online in this environment can be the equivalent to ear-wigging in a restaurant, with anticipated equally unfavorable results.

But people do love to talk. If people feel passionate about something, they will not only comment but become advocates – the essence of viral marketing. And viral is not merely the power of conversation between friends, but also the greatest form of advertising – namely, word-of-mouth.

Being able to track the viral effect is something long been hoped for. Despite the chain emails leading us to believe otherwise, for the most part, viral is unqualified and blind.

Word-of-mouth is both powerful and most often, free. Beyond blind network buys to gain supposed cost-effective reach, complementing paid for advertising by free media and a more qualified reach is at the heart of Eyeblaster’s new Widget Ads. From within an online advert people can now become advocates who ‘wear the brands tee-shirt’ and in turn convincing their friends to join suit.

The Eyeblaster platform is becoming an open power house to complementary technology vendors. With one in every two rich media adverts now carrying video, linking adverts with Gigya’s widget tool behind the scenes is an incredible way of capitalizing on a simple to use distribution platform to free media channels.

The concept is upon viewing an advert a user has the option to post the viral content, such as the humorous or raunchy video, to Facebook or MySpace or any other popular social networking site they are a part of by simply selecting their destination of choice from within the ad itself. This in turn allows them to not only display it on their own page, but to forward it to their friends, who in turn display the content on their own social pages too.

Try it for yourself here.

But the real beauty is that all of this viral effect is no longer blind, but displaying the data gleaned from opportunity direct within Eyeblaster’s reports right alongside the paid for advertising, giving advertisers and agencies alike insights into the world of word-of-mouth marketing. This is an industry first. With impressions more powerful than the click, being able to demonstrate conclusively the viral effect will completely revolutionise the way we collect and interpret user behaviour towards advertisers, ultimately proving the case for extending advertiser reach from paid through earned channels in a single consolidated report for the agency.

This brings me onto measurement. Brand effectiveness should not be measured by a response metric (i.e. click) and ROI should be seen more in terms of qualified reach as opposed to conversions (i.e. purchase) – and in social networks, remember this is potential free media space. Conversion can be seen here as switching someone on to identify with the brand by placing their stamp in their personal space. Where this could lead to on subsequently is where the fun begins, especially when we see the placed viral video as the first part of a sequenced behavioral message, which in turn will help funnel a user towards an actual conversion when the user next encounters a brand’s adverts – anywhere online.

Make no mistake; this is a key turning point for Web 2.0. Widget Ads are the opt-in advertising model of social media that will ethically readdress the balance of targeted advertising alongside social networks.

Perhaps Widget Ads will become the equivalent of organic search to complement paid for listings?

After all, “there’s oil in them thar hills…”