A year ago, publishers sold 5 percent of their inventory via online ad networks, a year later, that number has shot up to 30 percent. That has a lot of scary implications for anyone but the ad networks. As I read the original post in Mediaweek, I recalled a presentation given by the absolutely brilliant Aaron Pilhofer of the New York Times at the Investigative Reporters and Editors meeting in Miami earlier this summer. Aaron said, “You can’t outsource your future.” As we look to the local Web and local media in our new focus, this is a big one to keep in mind. If your business model is advertising driven, your business is advertising — you can’t outsource a significant percentage and expect to stay in business. Unless, of course, you like working for someone else.
Before the comment slamfest begins, I do see a lot of value in ad networks for turnkey sites and personal publishers to grow their businesses. But if you have an ad department, you are in a whole different ball park and need to check if you are addicting yourself to the crutch. You need to run your own ad platform and become the local ad network. Imagine if local bloggers in your market used your version of adsense instead of Google. That’s making dollars instead of pennies.