I have had my share of blogs over the past couple of years and have also created several content and resource sites. In that time I have experiemented with literally dozens of advertising techniques but found that nearly all (unless I manually set up the ad myself) have a major flaw in their system.

This flaw is the same one that search engine’s face. Unfortunately, widely available technology has not reached the point where it can identify context. Only content. This draws some major problems in the advertising world, especially on blogs which are generally very opinionated.

In a recent post I said who I was endorsing for President in 2008. Though my article was an endorsement of Barack Obama, there were two ads that would show up prevalently in my sidebar. The first, a text ad, held the caption “The Real Barack Obama” with a link to a conservative news blog (and not even an article about Barack Obama). The second was a John McCain Campaign image ad. Obviously both of these ads were not just out of context but more over, they were contradictory to my piece.

Taking my criticism a step further, I want to point out another problem. Again this is something I see in all the major search engine’s too. I think this one speaks for itself…

Need I say more?

Until online advertising platforms learn to identify context and sentence structure above keywords, there will be publishers with less revenue, users who get sent the wrong message, and advertisers who are paying out money to advertise to the wrong demographic.

It’s something to really think about, especially you web developers. The saying goes, “Content is King” but I think whomever can extract Context will reign supreme.

Serenity is… listening to the Beatles song ‘Because’ in pitch black during a rainstorm at 2 in the morning. Enough said.

Because the world is round it turns me on
Because the world is round…aaaaaahhhhhh

Because the wind is high it blows my mind
Because the wind is high……aaaaaaaahhhh

Love is old, love is new
Love is all, love is you

Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry
Because the sky is blue…….aaaaaaaahhhh

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh…

1. Dictionary
2. Yellow Pages
3. Encyclopedia
4. Main News Source
5. Car Navigator
6. Email System
7. Traffic Source
8. Revenue Generator
9. Grand Overlord?

…Oh yeah, and it’s my search engine.

Does that scare you as much as it scares me?

Scene: Man with fedora and bull whip stares over the edge of a giant hole down into a black abyss. He thrusts a torch down into the hole revealing the Tomb below. His eyes widen at the sight. Slowly, he rolls over onto his back and turns his head towards his sidekick, a young teen heartthrob.

Man: (Whispers) Aliens. Why does it have to be aliens?

Sidekick: (After silent pause) You go first.

——–

George, Steven. You ruined my childhood tonight.

I already have a Macbook and an iPhone and do not plan on upgrading my hardware any time soon. Still—like many Apple users—I am brimming with anticipation as the WWDC grows closer and closer. Steve Jobs is giving one of his world famous Keynote Speeches on June 9th to kick off the event where he will likely introduce the next generation of the Apple product line including an upgraded or whole new iPhone.

So what can we all do to pull ourselves away from constantly updating Google Reader to see the latest rumors?

At least we can take a few minutes to watch this video I found on 9to5 Mac. It contains a mix of Past Keynote Bloopers.

It’s truly all you need.

~ Warren

Update: I guess Viacom’s way to thank consumers for vial marketing is to stop it from happening and removing video clips. Maybe Sumner Redstone should listen to Seth Godin about a thing or two. If you want to see Lewis Black Comedy go to lewisblack.com. Viacom doesn’t control that site.