Attribution

It’s so true.

Overture gets no love! Just as Battelle tells the story of online advertising in The Search, Publishing2.com quips:

‘Ah, the irony. Google came along and made advertising into an honest, measurable, P&L business — and companies signed up in droves, to the tune of $6 billion.’ (my italics)

The mind-blowing part of the Overture/ Google/ Ad triad is that online ads have become such a revenue stream. Articles like Bruce Sterling’s “Blogging for Dollars” and Google’s Blog on Online Privacy Post, all highlight that online ads and data collection have momentum of their own. (I think Google is milking not selling out to the Feds and giving up user's information for all it's worth!)

The internet has become a corporate animal, despite the early feelings of adventure discussed in The Search. It isn’t surprising; Battelle, through interviews, explicitly states that universities like Stanford, who nurtured the emergence of the Web, became known for turning academic projects/ applications into commercial enterprises. Stanford’s advantage came from unparalleled academic resources, location and access to venture capital; this Web incubator was the sole reason many ambitious techies came to Stanford in the first place! It’s extremely naïve and romantic for people to mourn the loss of Web altruism – I think that sentiment was over by the late 80’s.

Instead, those same individuals should look towards the future, as Bruce Sterling suggests, and use the net to create the communities that they would like, with or without advertising. However, as Sterling also reports, many bloggers and online denizens can’t wait for their chance to sell out. In John Battelle’s blog, he demonstrates his understanding of the commercial aspect of the Web and blogs – even touting them. (Ask me how I’ll change if my blog, the resulting book and movie deal happen…) Get used to it…. Advertising happens!