Yahoo expectedly disappoints, Google misses. Everyone blames a soft economy. But when the advertising industry goes into belt-tightening mode, will buyers smarten up or continue to do business as usual?

Online has been looking for that spark that signals our arrival. The sign from above that finally gives us our rightful seat at the table with mainstream media. Its hard for me to believe that we aren’t considered mainstream enough yet to stop calling those ‘other’ media “mainstream.” Same goes for rich media. Is Web 2.0 “richer” media? But I digress.

Some say we’ve arrived. Others say we’re in the first inning of the ballgame. Others use even more vague euphemisms to avoid addressing the issue with any substance at all.

For years, the online advertising industry has touted our measurability and accountability as the advantage we have over those other guys. So when media planners and buyers are taken to task, will the online advertising industry really suffer? Or is this the opportunity we’ve been waiting for to prove that we’re the smart way to spend their very limited marketing dollars?

What marketers will ask their agencies, “How many more (cars/bars of soap/insert product here) did we sell?” And more importantly, will those same marketers ask our TV buying brethren to do the same? I’m sure this is mostly wishful thinking, but I can’t help but wonder if a recession and tightening of advertising budgets isn’t the impetus the media buyers need to shift those budgets somewhere they can “prove” that got their money’s worth.

Lost returns to ABC tonight, and I’m going to Carnegie Hall for “An Evening of Music and Comedy with Family Guy’s Alex Borstein and Seth MacFarlane.” The DVR is set, and I plan on blowing past every single ad, just like you. Or maybe I’ll watch the high-def stream from ABC.com tomorrow, instead of the poorly encoded version my DVR records. But I’ll definitely be reading what fans think about the episode, what every clue means, and speculate about how the season will play out. And I’ll be doing that online. Maybe those ad dollars will follow me? One can only hope.

Facial recognition video search startup Viewdle today launched two products designed to help users find additional content on people they’re looking for.

The first, a name widget that allows online publishers to link to additional video content on a person from the Viewdle-indexed Reuters video library, say, for the sake of traffic
Britney Spears

The other, a flash based election coverage tracker that counts number of media appearances and minutes of airtime candidate has had over the past day, week, month and year. In the future this type of technology should make it a lot easier for FEC monitors to fine media organizations not providing equal time to candidates.

Connected Ventures, part of IAC, is looking for a online Director of Ad Ops in NY.

Their sites include:
www.collegehumor.com
www.vimeo.com
www.bustedtees.com

Email us if you’ve got what it takes.

We’re seeking a dynamic and accomplished business development professional who can immediately contribute to a fast-growing professional team. The candidate should have a strong background in video content distribution, syndication and monetization with a strong eye toward emerging trends in podcasting and on-line video consumption.

Leader in podcast distribution, delivering more than 85 million monthly downloads for more than 8,000 independent and commercial content creators. We’re building an organization to satisfy advertisers desire to be involved in this new and exciting medium.

The Biz Dev Leader will work with the CEO and be responsible for identifying, negotiating, and developing multiple business partnerships nationally.

Key Responsibilities:

· Primary focus is to expand on-line distribution content by opening doors with new relationships and developing/expanding existing relationships

· Other duties include creating biz dev partnerships to expand unique and high quality content and conceptualizing and auctioning monetization avenues

Job Requirements:

· Extensive network of contacts with top-tier internet publishers—either in leading on-line companies with a video component (e.g., YouTube) OR with traditional sources (e.g., Turner Network)

· Excellent research skills, passion for keeping ahead of on-line video consumption trends, and calculated risk taker

· Track-record of creative deal-making and business development

· Strength in developing and interpreting the metrics of internet publishers/advertisers

· Ability to function well as a self starter and in a team environment.

· Can-do attitude is a must.

Salary and commission/bonus are negotiable.

Competitive Benefits package including Stock Option Program.

Local is finally beginning to make waves. Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Levy Cohen, CEO of startup Collarity, the company powering community-based search for FOX local TV sites.

Collarity’s search technology works by tapping into the inherent behavioral similarities among users. Collarity takes information from all users of a site to segment the audience into very specific micro-communities. Search then continuously improves and adjusts individual results based on the changing interests of a website’s numerous existing communities.

A search for “New England” on MyFoxNewYork.com for example shows that New Yorkers are concerned with New England weather and of course the Giants. LA residents are more interested in Britney and they tend to be Pats fans. As users spend more time on a site search results adapt to their history.

By dividing users into interest groups based on what they have viewed and where they have spent time on a website, Collarity is able to target users with relavent advertising, and increase page views and CPM rates. Cohen said they have seen conversion rates on partner sites rise by 40%-100%.

As the content universe expands, navigation will continue to grow in importance. The inherent social networks that underlie every website are an incredibly powerful tool for improving the filter through which information is passed. By taking advantage of this Collarity offers a win-win for both users and content producers.

As we already mentioned, this week is the AlwaysOn OnMedia Conference here in NYC. But lets not forget to look later in the week to the Web 2.0 NY / Advertising 2.0 Conference on Thursday. And for you early risers, there’s an 8am session sponsored by the good folks at iBreakfast.

There’s also the Web Video 2.0 Meetup on the 29th, at Webster Hall (125 East 11th St.), starting at 7pm with presentations from Aditall, Camlink, uvLayer and FlixWagon.

And two weeks ahead, the Bright conference, exploring how technology and innovation are transforming the ways that companies build and sustain great brands.

CDN BitGravity today launched its BG LiveBroadcast technology and will stream the DEMO 08 conference live Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

BitGravity, which uses advanced technology to deliver on-demand content for more than 50 companies including Vimeo and Revision 3 promises their flash based live streaming technology will make live video on the net ubiquitous through a simplified and more efficient means of live content delivery.

DEMO 08 will showcase more than 70 products/technologies. Watch it here.

Crazy Monday. Sorry for the lack of posting. But its all for good reason.

One thing keeping me busy is that I was asked to be the program chair for the video track of the OMMA Global Conference, held March 17-18, in Los Angeles.

So, with that, I ask you, what do you want to see and hear? There’s no shortage of conferences out there to attend, and plenty of topics have been beaten to death. Who do you want to hear from? What questions do you want answered? What information have you been seeking that you just can’t seem to find? Email me and let me know!!!

Company: Eyeblaster Inc.
Job Title: Vice President, Sales Operations
Description: Eyeblaster is the global leader in digital advertising technology and the provider of the Eyeblaster Agency Campaign Manager and Rich Media Platform, enabling online publishers, agencies and advertisers to create and manage digital marketing content and advertising formats. Eyeblaster is about to launch the Eyeblaster Agency Campaign Manager – an all-encompassing campaign management tool that provides an infrastructural digital marketing solution to digital agencies. Eyeblaster, Inc. is headquartered in New York, with offices in Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Sydney and product development facilities in Israel. Learn more at www.eyeblaster.com.

Job Description

The VP would oversee Eyeblaster’s West Coast operations including sales, account management and client services.

This includes:

• Overall responsibility for revenue generation in territory from Eyeblaster’s technology products
• Overseeing Sales, Account Management and Services functions in the West Coast.
• Manage a team of 15-20 Sales personnel and Account Management staff.
• Heading operations for local offices in LA and SF
• Lead strategic account planning and for accounts in territory.
• Ongoing recruitment planning and execution
• Overseeing communication with other company’s departments and offices
• Represent the company in industry events and act as the company’s leading figure in the territory.

Qualifications

• Highly independent, motivated, resourceful, intelligent and hard working
• Excellent team member with great personal skills and ability to work in a fast paced, fluid operating environment
• Strong leader, capable of showing great example and enforcing corporate mentality and policies throughout his/ her entire organization
• Decisive and capable of making decisions within areas of responsibility
• Well proven management experience in fast growing technology companies with focus on marketing strategy and execution
• Good understanding of technology and technology development organizations
• Familiarity with the online marketing environment and experience with online marketing technologies would be an advantage

This year as world leaders gathered in Davos at the World Economic Forum, they also gathered around computers in the YouTube Room to answer the Davos Question.

“What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?”

Bono: “Don’t change your light bulbs change your leaders”

Hamid Karzai “Be kind to each other…as human beings”

Henry Kissinger: “Focus on the long range questions”

Shimon Peres: “To handle two dangers; the warming of the earth and the spread of terrorism”