It looks like advertising is coming to the ASPs. Let's call it SAD, short for Software
as a service ADvertising. It’s
inevitable. As Dana Gardner points out
in his ZDNet blog post Only
a matter of time, advertising is likely to be the next logical step for the
Software as a Service players. You can't help
but realize how inevitable it is after reading his entry on the subject. But there may yet be some hope for professionals
relying on web search service providers at work. As Microsoft feeds
on the success of Google in this arena, the glimmer of hope is the burgeoning underworld
of vertical search. All around the perimeter
of the raging battlefield that Microsoft has staked out with Google is a whole new
and growing subculture based on focused professional "niche" search. This undercurrent is quietly being served up
as a service for specialty content publishers and it is gaining astonishing
traction. It’s a sort of People’s Republic
of Search not unlike the recent Linux uprising.
Publishers frustrated
with the unbending rules of the mighty Google engine, yet small enough to
understand the financial benefits of Software as a Service, are turning en
masse to specialized vertical search service providers as a way of strengthening
their community and smoothing their transition to online publishing. What vertical search as a service offers that
the eight hundred pound gorillas can’t is flexibility and customization. Sure, it’s all still about serving the most
appropriate ad at the most effective time but vertical search service provides offer
a more tailored solution customized by the specialists so the experience is of
a new found quality currently lacking in the big guys. What this has facilitated is an ad delivery
medium which creates a new level of applicability and stickiness so that the
two combined add up to more than the sum of their parts. With vertical search services editorialized by
the specialists and intelligent ad serving as the monetization engine, the
professional ends up getting better information and ads that are far more relevant. So relevant that they become part of the
workflow. In fact, over 70% of SearchMedica medical vertical search
service users reported having a better experience when compared to Google. It may just be the vertical search revolution
that overthrows the superpowers when it comes to web advertising.
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About Chris Weiss
Mr. Weiss is a grizzled veteran of IT integration with almost 20 years deep in the data trenches. After an exhaustive Federal IT boot camp with the U.S. Department of Labor managing their legacy data migration, Christopher took over as the chief technologist for User Technology Associates. From that beachhead Chris followed the battle lines of Internet integration to become executive director with USWeb and ultimately vice president of professional services at the nefarious marchFIRST juggernaut. There he spearheaded large scale e-commerce skirmishes with allies like United Airlines, America Online, Citicorp and Harley-Davidson. When the dust finally settled, Mr. Weiss found he had become a mercenary leading his own small consulting battalion deeply entrenched in software product management and marketing with several European start-ups combating data security. In that service Chris has been honored with published victories in periodicals like Government Computer News, Federal Computer Weekly, PC Magazine and Washington Technology. Mr. Weiss currently holds the role of Director of Marketing, North America at Convera Inc. helping the prestigious vertical search superpower catch some "buzz" wherever it resides.