Ad Tech Could Be the Next Internet Bubble

There are plenty of sites where you could run 100% content-targeted ads and they'd be relevant and convert well without the cost of Big Data Deep AI Learning (tm) or the associated creepiness. Hell, you could run your own ad server or use on-page links most of the time.

But there are some huge markets where this doesn't work well. Generalized local news is the classic problem. It's difficult to come up with a highly relevant ad mix that can be placed against "Mayor Announces End to Glass Recycling" today and "Local Sportsball Team Wins Championship" tomorrow. Even if you had Google's range of inventory, you're dealing with content that may not be brand-friendly. (Who wants their ad next to a Coronavirus death counter or a beached whale?).

It almost feels like the entire creepy-ad ecosystem is built to service that sort of publisher. It offers an endless stream of ads which aren't lowest-bidder without having to care about content relevance, and it provides an "algorithm said so" deniability when the ads get placed embarrassingly.

It sort of works, allowing the tattered remnants of the local newspaper to keep their heads above water if they pile enough ads on the page, but it's then projected onto a broader market that probably doesn't need it, and where it only provides marginal benefits at high costs (financially, technically, and in privacy)