• Targeting, Ad Network Spending Increase – eMarketer
    More than nine out of 10 US advertising agencies and advertisers buying online media plan to work with ad networks in 2008, according to Collective Media’s "Ad Network Study 2008."  Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that they planned to spend more with ad networks in 2008 than they did in 2007.

  • ISPs meddled with their customers’ Web traffic by Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
    In a paper, set to be delivered Wednesday, the researchers document some troubling practices. In July and August they tested data sent to about 50,000 computers and discovered that a small number of ISPs were injecting ads into Web pages on their networks. They also found that some Web browsing and ad-blocking software was actually making Web surfing more dangerous by introducing security vulnerabilities into pages.

  • Consumer groups urge "do not track" registry – Scientific American
    Two consumer groups asked the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to create a "do not track list" that would allow computer users to bar advertisers from collecting information about them.  The Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union also urged the FTC to bar collection of health information and other sensitive data by companies that do business on the Internet unless a consumer consents.  The call echoed those of other privacy advocates who filed statements with the FTC on Internet companies’ use of "behavioral advertising." That is the practice of tracking a computer user’s activities online, including Web searches and sites visited, to target advertisements to the individual consumer.

  • Seven Tips for Making the Most of Your RSS Reader – ReadWriteWeb
    RSS is a big deal, as anyone who’s subscribed to even a few feeds probably knows. Once you get past just a few feeds, though, it can quickly get overwhelming. RSS can leave you feeling inadequate, brain-dead and uninspired.  I was feeling frustrated yesterday when switching from one feed reader to another on a new computer. Then I remembered how wonderful RSS really is – and I decided to write this post. I hope you’ll find it interesting and useful.

  • Tranched Financings – Ask The VC
    Q: What type of structure have you seen where the VC agrees to fund over some time period 18-24 months and up to some level. A: (Brad): These are commonly called "Tranched Financings."  The typical approach is that a VC commits to fund a specific amount in multiple "tranches" based on the company achieving some milestones.  For example, assume a $10m financing broken up into two tranches – an initial $5m investment on day 1 and another $5m investment after 12 months assuming the company "releases a product with performance characteristics acceptable to the investor."