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Longstanding investor in Looksmart (and a 68 yr old ex-tradesman), who has a passionate interest in the problems of newspapers along with their success in all their monetisation attempts made, on the web. For the "times are indeed, a changin", I feel. [17th of Aug, 2011 - Print media... More
  • Yahoo's Right Media Exchange in Real Time "Pilot Program" 7 comments
    Mar 16, 2010 1:39 AM

    Described as being a "Pilot Program" [www.clickz.com/3639800] Kate Kaye tells readers that Yahoo ...'announced today it has begun a pilot program aimed at determining best practices for audience buying by DSP clients - mainly's Right Media, and Google's ad exchange.' ...

    And according to the article.."Many of these DSPs have been members of the Right Media Exchange for years, and through this pilot, they will gain access to Right Media's RTB capabilities"

    <Yahoo's plans to make a huge amount of online ad inventory accessible to advertisers on a real-time basis - something its competitors have already allowed.

    By aligning with demand side platform (DSP) firms including Data Xu, Invite Media, Mediamath, Turn, and X+1, Yahoo hopes to better understand audience buying and other processes for creating online ad buying efficiencies at greater scale - including real time bidding (RTB).

    Yahoo will allow the DSPs to access inventory in its ad network and Right Media Exchange in real time, meaning they can match users to targeted ads based on the attributes of each ad impression.

    The DSP relationships will help Yahoo better compete with Microsoft and Google, both of which already allow DSPs to bid for inventory in their ad exchanges based on real-time data.>

    Now I've no idea whatsoever where this puts Looksmart and its AdCenter, IMO, the ultimate "inter-connector" of DSP's & supply of that (publisher) Exchange sourced inventory, in using the 'private labeled' API's for both advertisers and publisher. I won't even try and explain my own feelings.

    Earlier today (and for a 2nd time, recently) I had noted a "rotation of banner Ads" over at the SearchEngineWatch forum. (When 'refreshing the page', the top banner had been served up from Omniture, DoubleClick and WPP's 24/7)

    http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?threadid=26062&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sewforums+(Search+Engine+Watch+Discussion+Forums)

    I thought it most interesting as one such 'display' Ad was for Looksmart (itself) and was being presented by 24/7 real media.

    The Ad (itself) and it's (origin) "addy" are as follows:

    http://imagec17.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/Incisive/LookSmart_SEW_Leo_B_Q110/LS_728x90.gif/1262224425

    http://oasc05024.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/searchenginewatch.com/index.html/L32/329456846/Left1/Incisive/LookSmart_SEW_Leo_B_Q110/LS_728x90.gif/334f315a6e45756533583441414c714f?x

    SearchEngineWatch are included in latest traffic %'s, heading into AdCenter.

    www.alexa.com/siteinfo/looksmart.com#

    Percent of total visits to looksmart.com preceded by a visit to the upstream site.

    Now I had reported a "similar" type (banner Ad) situation in a previous Instablog where I had made mention, that:

    < I've recently seen this Ad being served (powered) by Microsoft's Atlas under the (re-direction) 'guise' of yet another Microsoft acquisition (of some time back), in a UK Co called, Accipiter.

    http://static.2mdn.net/viewad/1443729/268529/CM-728x90-Static-Introducing.gif

    collectivethinking.collective.com/about.php >

    [That Instablog: seekingalpha.com/instablog/36191-looking...]

    TESTING?

    With the use of "re-directions" & other "stealth-like" technology (check out the very article from SearchEngineWatch and ASK's "newly" acquired "PureLeads"), it's too hard to say who is "coming or, going" (to or, from), where these days?

    And to me already it "smells" of being a (corrupt), "rotten can of worms" that is almost at the 'sickly' stage, as I'm reading it all.

    "Pureleads"
    • With PureLeads, all clicks from our network are first sent to "aslads.ask.com" for evaluation (multiple traffic quality tests).
    •  
    • As a result of our servers intercepting the clicks your web server logs now will register "aslads.ask.com" as the source of all ASL clicks.
    •  
    • ****************************
    • From traffic into Looksmart's AdCenter both zerolag.com and 6topsearches.com do appear to be 'stable-mates' and God would only know who they may well be representing under the "host" cover given.
    •  
    • Clients - http://zerolag.com/clients/
    •  
    • For a Co (Looksmart) that has treated it's 'grass-root' (the) ordinary shareholders with the utmost of total contempt over the past 3 or, 4 years.the area of "transparency" is hardly something you would be impressing me with, as a potential advertiser. Far from it.
    •  
    • IMHO, the "goings-on" appear to be nothing short of being almost criminal. Business, you may well say? - Oh no .. It's a proper disgrace!
    •  
    •  
    • Ross Bradley - "LC"
    Sorry about the bullets - technology gone mad on me  :)

    Disclosure: Long LOOK
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    .

    Re;

    ##.. "Pureleads"

    With PureLeads, all clicks from our network are first sent to "aslads.ask.com" for evaluation (multiple traffic quality tests).

    ..As a result of our servers intercepting the clicks your web server logs now will register "aslads.ask.com" as the source of all ASL clicks. ..##

    The Huffinton Posts is suggesting there be a "Bill of Rights for Online Advertisers" and includes the following as being a crucial part of such:

    < An advertiser's right to know where its ads are shown. It is nonsense to pay for ad space without knowing where the ad will appear; sites vary too much in user quality and context.

    Even for "blind buys," advertisers should get enough information to determine whether a given site qualifies to show an ad.

    Anything less undermines accountability - inviting fraudulent sites to attack advertisers' budgets. And with all manner of fraud - from spyware pop-ups to invisible banners to adult sites slipping into "brand-friendly" networks - advertisers need to be wary.>

    www.huffingtonpost.com...

    Less accountability and almost deceptive practices would appear (very much so) as NOT being the road to go down.

    The article points out that ....'small advertisers cannot effectively negotiate terms dictated by advertising powerhouses. The result is a troubling mess of ads gone wrong - advertisers charged in ways they didn't fairly agree to, and on terms they didn't meaningfully accept."

    < Few small business can afford to hire lawyers to pursue their interests. And small businesses lack the purchasing power to negotiate their way out of unwanted placements or harsh contract terms.

    As small businesses move online, they deserve protections at least as strong as what they've enjoyed for decades in traditional advertising channels. These rights would be a valuable step forward.>
    .
    16 Mar 2010, 04:39 PM Reply Like
  •  
    .
    MediaPost has a slightly different 'take' on the story with some background leading up to this latest "testing". They point out that 'the program would also help the participating platforms enter into a tighter relationship with the Yahoo (Publisher) Network and the Right Media Exchange, including gaining access to the latter's real-time bidding (RTB) capability. Yahoo has been testing RTB, which let advertisers adjust ad buys on the fly on a per-impression basis, for the last several months.'

    <www.mediapost.com/publ...;

    They also provide a link to an earlier story that advises that .....

    'As part of Yahoo's strategy to remake the Right Media Exchange into a high-quality ad marketplace, the unit is shutting down its ad platform aimed at smaller Web publishers. The Direct Market Exchange (DMX) will stop serving ads Jan. 31 2010, although users will be able to access reports until March 1.'

    www.mediapost.com/publ...

    A 're-visit' to the initial SearchEngineWatch forum discussion (and where banners were shown to be on 'rotation') had revealed that Microsoft (themselves) are serving those Ads too, along with the others, in Omniture, DoubleClick and WPP's 24/7 real media.

    forums.searchenginewat...)

    Very interesting days are ahead, no doubt.
    .
    16 Mar 2010, 05:46 PM Reply Like
  •  
    .
    ##..A 're-visit' to the initial SearchEngineWatch forum discussion (and where banners were shown to be on 'rotation') had revealed, that Microsoft (themselves) are serving those Ads too, along with the others, in Omniture, DoubleClick and WPP's 24/7 real media...##

    Tests ..Tests ..and more Tests....

    And my own 'thoughts' or, my belief that a need for standardisation of analytics was a mandatory requirement........

    "Omniture 'standardising' Analytics - 'Line in the sand' clearly drawn" ............had met with a 'usual' deletion of posting such a "thought" on the Yahoo LOOK board, and yet I wonder why?

    seekingalpha.com/insta...

    It seems that some time back (also), that ........

    "Baidu had made friends with Omniture", too....

    < Omniture that offers software solutions for business optimization announced a partnership with leading Chinese search engine Baidu.com.

    Software from "Omniture SearchCenter" allows to control and predict site promotion, automating biding of keywords and work with different search engines from a single interface. >

    www.blog.haljava.com/p...

    A "standard" ('one-talk', global) platform and talking to each other on "equal" terms and or, being agnostic (equal) in interpretation across all languages? Universal?

    Oh well.

    .
    16 Mar 2010, 07:38 PM Reply Like
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    .
    Baidu and Omniture?

    Looksmart (from the CC, following Q2) have certainly told and had assured all (certainly shareholders who read & partners like APEX Pacific, BidRank, ClickTracks, LivePerson, MakeMeTop, Omniture, Trellian and Microsoft's Atlas), that, with AdCenter, it does "private label" to both publishers and advertisers:

    <........."We use proprietary and licensed software and databases to receive and analyze advertisements, campaigns and budgets, match search queries to advertising, analyze web-page information to match advertising to relevant content, integrate third-party ads, detect invalid clicks, serve ads in high volume, and track, analyze and report on advertising responses and campaigns." >

    ****************

    LookSmart® AdCenter: Help Center
    We have launched partnerships with APEX Pacific, BidRank, ClickTracks, LivePerson, MakeMeTop, Omniture, Trellian and Atlas. ... utm_source - Set this to looksmart-{feed} to track which ...
    adcenter.looksmart.com... ·


    Kellysearch® AdCenter: Help Center
    We have launched partnerships with APEX Pacific, BidRank, ClickTracks, LivePerson, MakeMeTop, Omniture, Trellian and Atlas. How do I edit my ad Title, Description or URL?
    adcenter.reed.looksmar...
    ****************

    Yes, just SOME that have compatibility with Looksmart's AdCenter global advertising network Folks.

    It's all a little hard to refute, is my argument.

    :)
    16 Mar 2010, 07:54 PM Reply Like
  •  
    .
    "INTER-OPERABILTY"? - AdExchanger.com puts the 'icing on the cake' within it's own final question put to .......

    ....."Yahoo!’s Wise And McGrory On Demand-Side Platform Pilot Program, Real-Time Bidding"

    AdExchanger.com: Q?

    'Using RTB, DSPs will be able to map user cookies across buys across ad exchanges such as RMX and DoubleClick Ad Exchange. Is 'interoperability' between exchanges still important'?

    Bill Wise: "It is our hope and intention for RTB to become a standard between exchange's dynamic supply sources-- the industry needs it.

    Standardizing the way RTB happens is important, and we need to come together to ensure we don't have too many different ways of performing this kind of integration".

    Ramsey McGrory: "It's not trivial and we're currently not consistent in how as an industry we do it.

    Regarding interoperability between exchanges, RTB sprung up in part as a response to there not being interoperability between exchanges, so RTB in essence allows for interoperability".

    www.adexchanger.com/ad...

    Yahoo's Bill Wise says that ..."Standardizing the way RTB happens is important.."

    Two comments back I (myself), had so clumsily written:

    < A "standard" ('one-talk', global) platform and talking to each other on "equal" terms and or, being agnostic (equal) in interpretation across all languages? Universal?>

    Mike and Barry (Yahoo "bashers"), eat your hearts out, both of you.

    :)
    16 Mar 2010, 08:22 PM Reply Like
  •  
    .
    DNS Record Analysis

    There are 5 DNS records about namimedia.com.
    Host Type Target / IP TTL Other
    namimedia.com A 600 class: IN
    namimedia.com NS ns1.zerolag.com 600 class: IN
    namimedia.com NS ns2.zerolag.com 600 class: IN
    namimedia.com MX mx.datasyncintra.net 600 class: IN
    namimedia.com SOA 600 class: IN

    http://bit.ly/TR8mEd
    3 Sep 2012, 10:08 AM Reply Like
  •  
    .
    Points of interest:

    (Is LIN TV Corp. a possible 'acquire-e' that Looksmart has now talked of receiving and is pursuing [these] other indications of interest at valuations exceeding $1.00 per share, and the Company is continuing to execute on a strategic plan designed to enhance both near term and long term value."?? )

    Just 'thinking out loud', as usual.

    LC
    .
    3 Sep 2012, 09:30 PM Reply Like
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