Looksmart need to help 'Cut the Cackle' & Start Telling It - As It Will Be!

May 05, 2011 7:05 PM ET

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Seeking Alpha Analyst Since 2006

Longstanding investor in Looksmart (and a 70 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 (sadly), has lost a sense of that preponderance it once held in our society. There is hope. - But it needs a fundamental change in that ingrained culture that has been the way, of the past. Please read the article linked below (and especially all the 'free' user comment), that has also been added today.] And, history will soon show that ACAP (the, Automated Content Access Protocol), that I have been so "passionate" about in many a post made everywhere over the past few years, will not only become a part of our every-day lives, but will be fiercely-enforced along the way...And rightly so... Where your "free" (Local) "rag", may well even survive and become (as was also predicted by myself back in 2005). the very "lynch pin" between local business and the web! :) And it seems that Europe will lead the way....It's a lengthy read, that some will find is well worth-while to do so. "Publishers demand IP Rights To Protect Journalism" Cheers!! Added August 16th, 2011 - "Newspapers Need a DNA Transplant" http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Newsletter/Article/Newspapers-Need-a-DNA-Transplant March 6th, 2012 - "Newspapers: It’s not a revenue problem, it’s a culture problem" http://gigaom.com/2012/03/05/newspapers-its-not-a-revenue-problem-its-a-culture-problem/ “Publishers need to think how that [their] brand lives on the Web" - http://www.digiday.com/publishing/in-turnabout-publishers-act-like-marketers/ Rupert Murdoch: The future of newspapers is all digital http://dlvr.it/1V8dPY New Orleans, newspapers and the beginning of the end By Mathew Ingram May. 25, 2012 http://gigaom.com/2012/05/25/new-orleans-newspapers-and-the-beginning-of-the-end/ Friday Sep 21, 2012, 11:22pm EDT LOOK: $0.89 Up 0.08 (+10.53%) 4:00PM EDT|After Hours : 0.89 Up 0.00 (0.03%) 4:09PM EDT Two excellent articles I've just read (I feel) encapsulate this lon 'drawn out' road to come up with a solution that becomes, the 'intersection of search and display'. Read on.... "Do you hear that rumble in the distance? It’s change coming. What sort of change, you ask? Well, the events of the last few weeks collectively point to a pretty big shift in the search landscape. First, has traditional search engine usage reached its peak? When people skip over a search engine and go straight to Amazon for product search, it’s clear that either Amazon is doing something very right, or search engines need to improve their results. Changes to Google Shopping may help improve the experience for users, but is it too little too late?" http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183511/the-future-of-search.html Then.... "Google News, its executives tell me, now "algorithmically harvests" articles from more than 50,000 news sources across 72 editions and 30 languages. And Google News-powered results, Google says, are viewed by about 1 billion unique users a week. (Yep, that's billion with a b.) Which translates, for news outlets overall, to more than 4 billion clicks each month: 1 billion from Google News itself and an additional 3 billion from web search. As a Google representative put it, "That's about 100,000 business opportunities we provide publishers every minute." http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/google-news-at-10-how-the-algorithm-won-over-the-news-industry/262641/ It's been an amazing story all the way. With LUMA Partners publishing it's LUMAscapes that map over 1,500 companies across seven sub-sectors of digital:companies saying, that within the circles alone [they] represent approximately $3 trillion of market capitalization and $450 billion of cash and securities. - http://www.lumapartners.com/the-strategic-buyer-lumascape/ Where do they start to rein-in some of that invested capital? My thoughts are contained in the following two links: https://www.facebook.com/ross.bradley.18/posts/10151231209526605 http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/36191-lookingconfident/932031-an-rtb-global-open-marketplace-handling-up-to-100-billion-events-per-day?source=kizur#comment_update_link

Why is it, that this industry is 'wasting it's time' with so many panels or, discussions (in this instance -- on the subject of audience targeting and exchanges http://ow.ly/4Natw) - and with a kind of 'waffle' that is surely behond normal comprehension? And, certainly by the most important of those in the 'space' - - - - who really do have a need to understand.

Meaning the Big Brands, Advertisers and those in the Agencies who they are represented by - all those that get to control huge Ad spends.

It's pretty simple, really. Big publishers, the likes of a Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft & say, a News Corp own or, control a swag of sellable inventory. It's where a 'sqillion' users can be found, daily. Each of these have their own data on users coming to their sites or, have data that's provided to them (on those same user), by third party data Co's.

In buying audiences direct (with any/all of the above-named publishers), advertisers then get an opportunity to reach their target audience (or, those they may want to 're-target') and ultimately - -- for a price that they negotiate or, are then prepared to pay. Great!

Problem is - as a buyer (I'll put on my advertiser hat), I'm never able to get my desired 'fill' from the one seller or, publisher. - And so often (in trying to reach my target at scale), it almost becomes an impossibility.

I want (when re-targeting) or, have a strong need to reach a certain demographic - - -no matter where they may appear next and, all over the web!

I don't ever want to miss any possible chance of a placement before a re-targetable (identified as - a 'ready to buy') "user" - certainly while he or, she is considered as being 'hot'.

Simply because my 'target' happens to be at one of the many (other) milions of sites - - that are or, do NOT come 'under the umbrella' or, the 'reach' of my exisiting DSP/s (my many buying platform/s), that I'm asked/expected to operate with.

Besides, it's a costly exercise in doing all the comparisons, that include the disparate data 'interpretations' incoporated in each platform, that do take a lot of my time - and that means, even more added costs.

Regardless of all this, my resultant ROI's (that vary), do leave me with the feeling of forever leaving behind ... that certain 'some-thing on the table'. - - This doesn't instill confidence in me, at all.

Leaving me with the feeling of my wanting to well, 'look before I fully leap' any futher. - - I find it hard to justify my efforts with those I am answerable to, who always need/demand my confident reassurance.

********
The topic of "distributed knowledge"- - where all sources of Data involved chuck their prized data 'in a hat' - and appoint some agent (that may get to be called a "co-ordinator"), has been discussed in an earlier post. - tinyurl.com/3ekz5ew

The 'triangulation of all data collected' then becomes a combined means of providing all information on 'users', that can then be utilized (across the entire web), in a 'blind to all' (that's, buyers and, sellers), RTB marketplace.

This will then result in a "win-win-win" for all (every-one), involved.

Buyers: Get scale from a 'one-stop-shop' technology platform, in using what then becomes, consistant to all Data. (Apples, with apples?) - The increased ROIs (for them), will then encourage further spending.

Sellers: Enjoy increased bids for 'users' (and better returns), no matter where they may appear, across the web. With previously 'un-monetised' and what once were wasted impressions, now adding to a publisher's over-all take.

Data source providers: Could enjoy a small percentage 'share' of each and every 'paid click' (for their data provided), as/when applicable.

In all of the above-mentioned three (clearly), there is 'added value'.

And Users?

Well, they get better, "anonymized" targeted Ads, that will then help them to make their purchase decision for the product or, service , where their initial interest was shown.

Advertisers? - Not only will they then 'understand' where & exactly how their money is being spent -- their "proof" will (or, can clearly be shown to them to) be, in the (distributed knowledge), "pudding".

But then again, there's always a possibility that they (the advertisers and huge publishers), already know all of this? - Ah, C'est-la-vie!

Just an opinion.

LOOK: 3:57PM EDT: $1.8099 0.0101 (-0.55%)

Volume: 24,618/82,858 - finance.yahoo.com/q?s=look

LC

ps; From within "Optimizing the consumer experience isn’t one thing; it’s the only thing" - http://bit.ly/mE4yGC - Scott Hoffman points out, that:

"Using big data is the path toward optimizing the consumer experience. I can envision a day when every digital CMO, has a unified data centric view of every consumer interaction across all internet touch points. The digital CMO will use this unified view of consumers data, the insight into demographics, psycho graphics, and behavior it expose, to inform every interaction a brand can have with a consumer.

This process of a unified view of a consumers data requires capturing, analyzing, and proactively acting on data to optimize the consumer experience by delivering relevant and engaging content & offers.

The scenario I described above is not science fiction,- - - it is attainable today – by using big data sets, and big storage, and big processing a power .."

pps; They are B-a-c-k Again !!! -- Re: They are B-a-c-k Again !!!

And some quick damage control, perhaps? :)

Google has Responded About Opening DoubleClick Ad Exchange To Intermediary Inventory Sources - http://bit.ly/jFpBk2

Re: Wow: Pump. Dump. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Yes. - "Man is the only kind of varmint who sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it." ~John Steinbeck

When ignorance truly is bliss?

Traffick: The Business of Search: Pump. Dump. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Disclosure: Long LOOK and happy to be so...
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