Tag Archives: ads

Instagram Has Started Putting Ads In Search Results



Instagram posted information titled: “Promote Upcoming Launches And Reach More People With New Instagram Ads”. In my opinion, nobody wants to have their Instagram feed filled with ads – especially if those ads are irrelevant to the user. I guess this is how Instagram is attempting to make more money.

The information from Instagram starts with: People comes to Instagram to discover new brands, products, or upcoming events. Today, we’re introducing two new ad products that give businesses more ways to get discovered and from meaningful connections – Reminder ads and ads in search results.

Reminder Ads

We recently partnered with brands such as Starz to test a new ad format that makes it easier for businesses to announce, remind, and notify people of future events or launches that they might be interested in.

Reminder ads, rolling out to all advertisers as an option in feed, help advertisers build awareness, anticipation, and consideration for upcoming moments. People can opt into convenient reminders and receive three notifications from Instagram one day before, 15 minutes before, and at the time of the event.

Ads in Search Results

We’re also beginning to test ads in search results to reach people actively searching for businesses, products and content. Ads will show up in the feed that people can scroll when they tap into a post from search results. We plan to launch this placement globally in the coming months.

The Verge reported while Instagram’s post vaguely states the ads will “reach people actively searching for businesses, products and content,” company spokesperson Shenny Barboza has since confirmed to The Verge that “ads will show up for search terms that fall within our community and recommendation guidelines.” That means we could potentially see ads on all the searches that meet those criteria.

According to The Verge, Instagram has only been adding more and more ads over the years, which now populate the platform’s Explore page, Explore feeds, Reels, Stories, and even user profiles. Emma Roth, writing for The Verge, stated “I can’t say I’m surprised that Instagram’s bringing them to search result feeds as well, but I will be mourning the loss of yet another part of the platform where my scrolling isn’t interrupted by ads.”

TechCrunch reported that once the ad placement rolls out widely, users around the world will start to see ads related to their searches. For example, if you search for “Skin Care”, you will see relevant ads within the search results feed. You can tell the difference between ads and regular posts through a “Sponsored” label under the account’s name.

According to TechCrunch, these new tools serve to boost the company’s ability to pull in revenue at a time when Meta has been seeing declining ad sales. As part of its Q4 2022 earning results, Meta revealed last month that its ad revenue fell to $31.2 billion from $32.6 billion in the same quarter last year.

TechCrunch also wrote that after Meta reported its first-ever quarterly revenue decline in Q2 2022 amid declining ad sales, the company increased its ad load on Instagram with the launch of two new ad slots. Meta launched a new ad format for Facebook Reels, and started allowing advertisers to run ads on the Explore home page and in profile feeds.

Personally, if it turns out that the plethora of ads Instagram posts is more than I’d like, I will definitely consider removing my art from Instagram and deleting Instagram itself. Instagram/Meta is taking huge risk that current users will leave the platform rather than having deal with so many ads.


Mohu Leaf Antenna: You Don’t Need Cable



Did you know that you can get free HD over the air with an antenna. The truth is some of the best HD comes through over the air resources. The best way to get these channels is by using an outdoor antenna, but for people who live in an apartment that’s not very realistic.  Most indoor antennas don’t work very well and you constantly have to reposition them to get different channels to come in. Mohu Inc leading producer of antenna technology has been working to solve this problem. Their latest product is the Mohu Leaf.

The Mohu Leaf is an indoor antenna that picks up all available over the air channels in an area without constant repositioning. It is manufactured in the US. It was originally designed for the military by Greenwave Scientific antenna engineers.  Dr Mark Buff the president of Mohu Inc decided to buy an ad on  Time Warner Cable for the holiday season.    Their ad spot stated that consumers “do not need expensive cable service to watch HD programs.”. Mohu assumed that there would not be a problem since Direct TV and Dish Network also competitors to Time Warner Cable have ads on cable.  Unfortunately Time Warner Cable in Columbus, Ohio and Kansas City, thought differently and refused to air the Mohu Leaf commercials. This is the commercial that they were going to run.

I haven’t tried the Mohu Leaf myself, but all the reviews I read on-line have been positive. It is sad, that Time Warner chose not to run this commercial in certain areas. It is even sadder that they are able to block Mohu ability to advertise on cable. Hopefully this on-line video will become viral and Mohu will have the last laugh.


GNC-2011-09-29 #709 Kindle Fire



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GNC #691 Dialed In



Congrats to our Roku or Google TV winner Steve Novak. Next GNC will be from the heartland of Texas. Will be out their for a week. Looking forward to testing some of my new road setups should be a lot of fun. I carry on for quite a bit tonight over the Sonos cannot say enough on how great a system they have. Thanks for all the new followers on Google+ and again congrats to Steve.

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Are 30 Second Ads Hurting uStream, Livestream, Justin.tv?



Ad Dollars

It’s the cost of doing business – advertising pays the bills. However, when you have a live show where someone clicks on – and is ready to move on when they don’t get instant gratification, 30 second ad might make them move on before they even see the show. Is 30 too long and what is the magic number?

But Hulu Does it…

Hulu, of course, has really cornered the market on stream TV. And most people will wait through the ads. Each ad is 30 seconds.

Some of them are longer and give you the option to watch the longer commercial to avoid the commercials at the breaks.  Some of them are only 10-15 second ads, too.

There are 7 commercial spots in a 1-hour TV show on Hulu. It’s network content from NBC, ABC, FOX (and soon CBS on HULU Plus). It’s not live content, so nobody misses a thing (Same thing with YouTube – pre-recorded, so an ad can easily go in without losing content time).

We might even expect and accept network TV ads simply because it is coming from a major network.

Why it doesn’t work on uStream, Justin.tv

Whereas Hulu contains studio productions that can take a pause 7 times a show, uStream and Justin.tv contains live content. Every extra second an ad takes, you lose what is being done or said.

For a person trying to start great content on this system, a 30 second commercial in the foreground could cause loss of viewership. The person, in turn, could just nix the idea and move on simply because it’s harder to get an audience.

Refresh

If the content freezes or if the system crashes, then when you head back to the site, you have to endure another 30 second ad. Would that make people feel the need to come back to the site?

How should they make money?

I’m not talking about taking away the ads – just remember that people will not only leave a show, but also leave a website because they are not entertained.

10-15 seconds ads sound palatable. Add the pop-up ad every now and then – You’ve got a winning combination. Maybe when the show is off-line, content is played with breaks – 15 seconds every 5-10 minutes of content.

Browser Blocker add-ons?

Yes – if you install an add-on blocker in your browser, you could avert those ads. Personally I wouldn’t do that. It is a free service, after all. They need to make money to keep it free.

Pay a Premium?

What if the content producer paid to do their show? Would that in turn be good or bad for companies like uStream?

If the consumer was asked to pay, you might get a few that do it for a while. Most would want to go somewhere else for their content. You can only ask and see what happens.

While sites like uStream, Livestream and Justin.tv need to make money, long ads in front of the videos might not be the answer. Re-thinking the ad sounds like a better idea. break up off-line content -Play an add every 5-10 minutes in a pre-recorded show. Pop-up video ads that are not too invasive. That is what is needed in a live “See it now” environment.


Yahoo is Done Searching. Microsoft Gets Their Way (Sort of)



bing yahoo

Well, it was a deal that was a year and a half in the making. Actually, it’s been longer than that – nonetheless, Microsoft has finally gotten what they want. While it still needs to have a final stamp of approval, it looks like Yahoo search will become Yahoo Search powered by Bing.

The real history is this: Back in 2005, Microsoft talked ‘Partnership’ with Yahoo to thwart the ever growing Google. That was during the Instant Messaging days – When it was announced that MSN Messenger and Yahoo IM would be able to talk to each other.

By May of 2007, Microsoft and Yahoo were in talks of an apparent $50 Billion dollar merger. While that didn’t happen, we started seeing the beginnings of the Mass Exodus of Yahoo. Employees such as Farzad Nazem – who was Yahoo’s CTO at the time – took retirement. That was followed by other key players in Yahoo’s stable.

However, the battle didn’t really start until Feb 3rd, 2008, when Steve Ballmer offered $41 Billion to take over the company. It was a long – drawn out battle that gave people like Carl Icahn a seat on Yahoo’s board and Jerry Yang the heave – ho as CEO. Since then, Yahoo has plummeted in stock price.

Carol Bartz took over as CEO in January 2009 with a renewed hope. However, the Yahoo name has been pretty stagnant until just a couple weeks ago when they revamped email. Closing services like Yahoo Music and Geocities helped Yahoo score a profit in Q2, but the search side had remained at a plateau.

Then along came Bing.

“I think actually Bing is a good product. ” Carl Bartz announces in a transcript. “It actually extends sort of the experimentation around search and how people use it instead of just thinking like a standard blue link.” She goes on with “…Microsoft should be given kudos for Bing.”

What is supposedly proposed is that Microsoft will take over the search engine side of things. Yahoo will continue with ad placement on the site. Yahoo is expected to get 110% of search ad deals until 2011, in which it will drop to 90%, according to Allthingsd.com.

The drama is expected to unfold in the next 24 hours as it is said to be a ‘done deal – with the formalities happening later today’. Right now, neither side is ready to comment.


Online Local News Forces Local Businesses Online



The truths:

  1. News is moving online.  People want instant access to news without waiting until the next morning or afternoon.
  2. The recession has caused a terrifying drop in printed advertising causing a quick but low profit move online.

The conclusions:

  1. Local news companies must move to quick unabbreviated news online that incorporates local business advertising.
  2. Local businesses must move online with a web presence that brings both foot traffic to the brick and mortar store as well as an online business.

sports-inforum-fargo-nd

An example:

The Fargo Forum moved to a CMS and used their site extremely well during the recent flood.  The site is not necessarily as polished and easy to navigate as Foxnews.com, but a good start in the online news business.  However, the prime advertising real estate on the site is for Forum operated sites.  Sites that local businesses can join and participate/advertise in.  Really they are ads for the Forum classifieds (i.e. Homes, Apartments, Cars, etc.)  There are really very few ads for individual businesses.  And once you visit the the business you may or may not be greeted by a discount or sales offer.  This must change if local news and businesses are going to make the transition.  The Forum is definitely in the game and making progress but it has room to grow.

The online move of news could force more and more local businesses to develop a true online presence.  It may not mean an online store, but it will mean an online version of what they would have had printed in the paper.  Additionally, they can have the equivalent of an entire sales flier for the price of an online click-through ad.  Could this mean a resurgence for web developers as local businesses must build dynamic CMS sites?  I believe that the local news agencies and businesses that catch on to this partnership and market will rediscover the advertising gold mine.  The early bird will get the worm.