AOL bought major stake in Adtech AG

In my previous post I jotted chain of reactions where major Search engine giants and leading publisher acquired major ad technology and ad network companies, following it is another BIG WWW and it is none other than AOL.Infact its a little late news(May17th) which I came across today, so I thought should pen down few infos which I have gathered.

AOL has bought major controllable stake in a german based Ad technology company "Adtech AG" however its financial transactions were not disclosed.

This action is to strengthen AOL's Ad network "Advertising.com" .This buy would give AOL's "Advertising.com" access to Adtech AG ad server "Helios IQ" . Also, before acquiring "Adtech AG", AOL has also acquired Mobile Ad network "Third Screen Media"

So who is in talks with
Eyeblaster, Tangozebra, valueclick, ..........?

Drift in Online Advertising

In the recent times, we have just come across all major Web Players busy acquiring suitable partner

• Google acquired Doubleclick
• Yahoo acquired Right media
• Microsoft acquired aQuantive
• WPP acquired RealMedia

Lets have a look at the acquired

The fact to note is, all these acquiring happened as a chain reaction.After knowing this I started to Question myself

Why all these players acquiring?

• Firmly believing spending money in acquiring is to form their own territory due to insecurity they get over each other

• To restrict/stop the mobility of each players on the internet

• By this, they can ensure their base for revenue generation
  

All the above points are transparent as these players have acquired market leaders in online marketing solutions which has broad ad network by which each player can control the advertisements on their network.

Now, we see ad sense on all the websites, I previse the coverage of ad sense would be narrowed down a bit as the ad networks of yahoo, Microsoft might blocks ads pumping through google.H owever smaller sites, blogs would still be out of control.

So my conclusion is, on internet we experience new things everyday, so for one to dominate is just by acquiring potential partner.So the drift would continue.

RSS Versus Newsletter

Hint: RSS --- Newsletter Reloaded

My confusion all started when, I started to know what an RSS is. After exploiting it to a level , I was deeply confused, because we already have a similar service which is a "Newsletter", so what’s special about RSS

I carried out my analysis for quite a few days to find out

Let’s get to the analysis

RSS:A service which would allow one to subscribe for dynamic contents and can be later read through specialized applications(for details refer to my blog " RSS-Buzz Word ")

Newsletter: A service whereby dynamic contents such as news, offers,..can be sent to all the subscribed users as an email

I figured out certain differences, which would help us out to find out the difference between an RSS and a Newsletter

RSS	Newsletter
We based service through XML	Web based service through HTML
Datas are delivered to RSS readers and aggregators	Datas are delivered to email account subscribed
Contents would be crawled by spiders	Search engine cannot access Newsletters contents
Helps Websites, blogs,..to get good Search engine ranking	It doesn't helps to get good Search engine ranking
Increases website traffick	It does not increase website traffick
RSS feeds occupies lesser file size	Newsletters are normally bigger than RSS feeds
Spam free	Open to spam
Organising and reading Feeds are more user friendly	Organising and reading newsletters are not as user friendly as feeds
More secure way of communication	Less secure as you use your contact details such as email address
Lots of options in RSS Readers and aggreagotors to email and bookmark the updates	Options left based on your email account provider
Theres no specific storage size as such(unsure)	Storage size for newsletter depends upon the email service provider

The above few points must have thrown light on why RSS is becoming popular than Newsletter.If you know any other points to add or corrections pls let me know.

RSS-Buzz Word

Isn't this icon familiar?

Online users these days frequently see something like this or wordings “Subscribe to RSS Feeds” on almost all websites and blogs. So, lets talk what’s the buzz about it

Everyone say, it is RSS, stands Really simple syndication in techies language an XML format

Initially I was one such victim who didn’t have any clue on how this logo help us and in what ways but I didn’t pay attention to it. when I frequently came across this, it provoked me to dig it. So I started digging to know what it is and what it is doing on all these websites, blogs, ………..

Readers, I won’t prefer to cover technical aspects of RSS, but rather I would explain everyone in a more basic internet users’s language.

Ok, let us imagine a service

• Which automatically logs on to your favourite/interested websites, blogs,.. on our behalf and looking out for updates




• Which would gather all the updates at one place making easy for us to read and organise




• Which would also have utility options to send gathered contents as email, social bookmarking,..etc
  

All your above imaginations can be made live with the help of RSS. It is a service which would enable all the websites, blogs and anyother form on the internet which frequently changes its contents to update their users automatically.

How to make this service live?

We need the below two

• RSS Feed URL of the websites/Blogs/……
• RSS Readers/Aggregators

RSS Feed URL: These websites/blogs would program themselves which would generate RSS Feeds in a form of URL(E,g: http://rajaramachandran.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default), which is RSS Feed URL.Also we have separate software which would read our websites/blogs and generate RSS Feeds.

RSS Readers/Aggregators: It is a software where we can paste the RSS Feed URL, so this software begins to monitor the URL for changes and downloads the same to its storage space. Later on we can log on to the software and read.

Process Flow diagram

Yuk, resolution lacks.I spent time drawing so I won't give up.For clarity Click Here. This is a very very basic flow by which RSS contents are checked for updates and how it is read.

Few RSS Readers/Aggregators

• Bloglines
• Bloglines Mobile
• Berry Bloglines
• Feedmarker
• Pluck
• 24eyes
• Rojo
• RSSor
• NewsGator Online
• Google Reader
• Orangoo
• development blog
• Hyperlinkage
• FatCast Reader
• FeedShark
• Nearest Neighbor News Network
• Feedexa
• TagCloud

Are we ready to use RSS......?

Dealing with ClickCommand of Flash

Flash ".swf" is constructed by Action scripts.There are certain funtions which are used to make flash clickable.They are

• FSCommand
• ClickTag

FSCommand:Few years back it was popular.Now that it results compatible issues with many browsers it is not widely used.And even many Ad servers does not support this Function

Syntax

" on (release) {

fscommand ("URL1", " ");

}"

ClickTag:This function is almost programmed in allmost all the Flash ".swf" creative units.Alike FSCommand this function enables the flash to be clickable

Syntax :

• For ".swf" Upto Version6

on (release)

{

getURL (clickTag, "_blank");

}

(or)

on (release)
{ getURL (_level0.clickTag, "_blank");
}

• For ".swf" Above Version6

on (release)
{
getURL (clickTAG, "_blank");
}

(or)

on (release)
{ getURL (_level0.clickTAG, "_blank");
}

Traffickers please ensure you do not use ".swf" which has embedded URL unitl explicitly requested by the client.The embedded URL would have the syntax similar to the one below

on (release)
{
getURL ("http://www.rajaramachandran.blogspot.com", "_blank");
}

We do not use ".swf" which has URL embedded becasue this wouldn't allow Ad server to record clicks, as the landing page would be triggered from ".swf" part and no request would be made to the Ad server .

Note:Traffickers please note, I would recommend to use "Action script" viewer to check flash before uploading on Ad servers.Lots of Action script viewer is available on the Internet.

Click Here to download Action Script Viewer

P.S.For accurate information always use full version and do not rely on data of the demo version

IAMAI appoints Mr Murugavel as its New Chairman

IAMAI has announced Founder and CEO of Bharatmatrimony.com Mr.Murugaval janakiraman as it s new chairman taken over from Mr Anupam Mittal of shaadi.com.

I am just curious to know why IAMAI appoints all Matrimonial baadshaas

Mr.Murugavel has great plans for his new role

• making the association more broad based and representative
• reaching out to government and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth growth of the industry
• training programme to encourage the younger generation to join this industry
• encouraging and supporting new entrepreneurs(I have a chance now :-) )
  
  Let us congratulate Mr.Murugavel janakiraman and wish him success

Important Facts about Flash and How to Traffick Flash

General Facts:
----------------------
Flashhhhhhhhhh, the most popular creative type among the Advertisers who advertises for branding.Ok, now that we all know flash creative looks more attractive than gif's/jpegs and so its influencing rate is more, So it is normally deployed for branding.

Trafficking Guidelines for Flash(Normal Flash banner)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Usually advertisers would send us ".swf" some pronounce as "swif" file and a "Gif/jpeg" and a landing page URL.

(1)What I need to have to traffick Flash ads on the Ad server and how ?

To traffick Flash ads you MUST need

• ".swf" file, some pronounces as "swif" file
• "Gif/jpeg" of the same size as ".swf" to serve as a backup(Optional-But highly recommended to use)
• Landing Page URL

With the above files one must generate "Sniffer code".And this sniffer code must be pasted in the Rich Media field of the Ad server in use .Remember to also upload its corresponding ".swf, Gif/jpeg". You are done, now you can preview your ad and click thru it.

(2)What is a sniffer code and why should I use it?

In general older web browser would not display flash ads scheduled on a site, so the user would apparently see a blank screen.In order to avoid the blank screen we use "gif/jpeg".Practically sensing the version of web browser and activating the back up gif/jpeg would be taken care by a code called as "Sniffer" :-) isn't it interesting ?

(3)How do I generate sniffer code?

All the Publisher and TPS Ad server would have options to generate sniffer code.


Note:

• Always ensure that you upload the same ".swf" and "gif/jpeg" which you used to generate sniffer code, because the creative names would be called inside the sniffer, otherwise you would not get preview
• All the above informations holds good for trafficking normal flash banners and not full page flash ads or any interstitials flash ads whose dimensions is not fixed.

I hope this article must have given idea on what a flash is and how to traffick it on the Ad server

-Raja Ramachandran

Ad Server-Brain of Ad operation

Online Ad Server

In simple language Ad Server is a software by which one can setup campaigns, edit when required, Forecast inventories, upload all types of creative units and even run report to know the performance of the campaigns.

In the online market, we get different types of Ad Servers

• ASP Model
• Site Side Server Model

ASP:A web based model, where the software is hosted at the Ad Server provider's end.And this can be accessed on Web browser with the Login.Practically this model is only suitable for Low and medium Ad volumes

Site Side Server:This is the model where the Ad server would be hosted at the Publisher's end.All the physical infrastructure of the Ad server must be maintained by the site.This model is very suitable for BIG publishers like Yahoo, MSN, Rediff, where Ad impressions reaches millions ~billions per day

Few Ad servers available in the market were listed down

AdServers

• ACE Serve™ - Advertising.com Centrally hosted ad serving solution
  
• Ad Butler ----Robust, scaleable hosted advertising management solution
  
• Ad Dispenser Server Version 2.0 ----Java-based advertising server software
  
• Ad Eagle Suite ----Locally hosted advertising management software
  
• Ad Hosting Solutions ----Scalable hosted ad serving application for publishers and siteNetworks
  
• Ad Manager - Indolinks--- Basic remotely hosted ad serving and tracking solution
  
• Ad Rotator ----Low cost ad management
  
• AdCommand ----Scaleable, remotely hosted ad management service
  
• AdCycle ----Shareware, mySQL-powered ad management software for smaller sites
  
• AdDesktop ----BURST! Media ASP-based ad server
  
• AdJuggler ----Robust ad serving solution. Licensed or hosted options.
  
• Advansis ---Advanced, locally hosted ad serving and management tool.
  
• AdvertisementManager---Commercial ad management system
  
• AdvertPRO ----Advertising delivery and management application
  
• AdvertSERVE ----Virtual hosted version of AdvertPro advertising management program
  
• Adviva A3 ---Pay-as-you-go ad serving solution
  
• Atlas Digital Marketing Suite ----Integrated tool suite for online campaign management
  
• BannerFusion Free ------Free, Perl and mySQL-based ad management software
  
• Central Ad 4.0 ----Affordable ad-serving product
  
• Disco---- Remotely hosted Flash ad server

• Discountclick -----Small-scale hosted banner rotation service
  
• Doubleclick DART for Publishers (DFP) ----Industry leader in hosted ad serving solutions
  
• Falk eSolutions AG: AdSolution, MailSolution -Collection of advanced hosted ad serving systems and technologies
  
• Fastclick Adserver ----Web-based application that enables you to serve, manage, and optimize online advertising.
  
• Ion Ad Management platform - Bluestreak ----Full service, real-time third party ad serving system.
  
• Manticore Technology ----Integrated online ad serving, optimisation and e-commerce products
  
• MOJO Adserver --MediaPlex---Web-based ASP advanced ad management tool
  
• Open AdStream - 24/7 RealMedia ----Local and hosted advanced ad serving and management
  
• Pegaz Admanager ---Locally hosted advertising management system.
  
• PhpAdsNew -----Superb full-featured, free, open source ad server
  
• Poindexter POE -----High-range ad serving solution featuring real-time optimisation technology.
  
• Speedera ----Leading global provider of distributed application and content delivery services.
  
• SpinBox ---Ad serving and hosting solution

• Thruport AdJuggler™ -----Robust remotely hosted ad serving and management
  
• Unicast -----Advanced multimedia ad serving
  
• WebAds 360 ----Scaleable hosted ad management service targeting smaller sites.
  
• Zedo Third Generation Ad Serving ----Fully featured ad serving platform

P.S.Sorry I could not give the link of these servers, however for details please type the corresponding Keyword in the Search engine

Komli's mixture

Komli an indian Ad network has organised for an online advert professional meetup on May08.
The objective of this is, just to create a gathering to expel new ideas in online advertising in this competitive edge.

Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Time: 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Seijo206 Waterfield Rd. (Above ICICI Bank)Bandra (W)MumbaiIndia

For those who wants to register " Click Here"

HURRY !!! First 25 entries would get BEER :-)

iGoogle-Another from the makers of Google

Google has recently launched their new service


"



URL @ "http://www.google.com/ig"

About iGoogle:

Is just a google search page along with many other services like "Customizable looks, Calendar, Digital clock, weather, News,game , dictionary and other stuffs"

Pros:

1.Google has just created a new avenue to place their google adwords

2.Different looks for google Search engine users :-)

Cons:

1.I feel the user interface isn't very attractive

2.The way these utility applications tailored appeals to me so heavily bundled

P.S:However this concept is not new.I know a service which I use for years is from "Goowy"

Check out at http://www.goowy.com, they call this service as "Webtop".

The user interface mirrors apple OS. I like this :-)

Which one you like ?