The "Splinternet" and How It Affects Internet Marketing  

Posted by Asher Simonds

Randall Rothenberg, head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, recently discussed the implications of today's devices' access to the internet and how they are blocking advertisers' access to consumers. He borrows Josh Bernoff's term "splinternet" to describe the phenomenon: With the creation of devices like the iPad comes the "semi-privatization" of the internet, such as Amazon's Kindle and the major game consoles. Advertisers are having a much more difficult time reaching consumers when major streams of web-based information is being sucked down through private "tubes." The Kindle, for instance, has almost no access to the online world, apart from downloading Amazon's media. This connection is completely closed off to anyone outside the system.

Rothenburg and the IAB say that these new devices also segment the different approaches to advertising so much that it is extremely difficult to cater for all of them. "...the IAB Agency Advisory Board have said categorically that their single greatest obstacle to advertising effectiveness and growth is their inability to deliver the same rich-media ads to ten of millions of households across multiple sites because, as they put it, 'the rich media toolkit differs too much from site to site.'" Rothenberg concludes with two suggestions:

-Providing companies should collaborate and create consistent standards for advertisers to continue with their services
-Media companies must focus effort on including marketing services as a means of revenue

1 comments

David Culp   says February 1, 2010 at 1:26 PM

This is an excellent point. I guess part of internet marketing strategy is figuring out what display devices your content is going to be tailored to, but that is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of different types of smart devices keeps increasing. I would imagine that these design decisions are going to be a part of targeting and segmentation - who is using what and how?
One of the aspects of Web 2.0 is ensuring that sites meet business halfway by providing an environment that is attractive to them. I guess manufacturers of smart devices need to think along the same lines.

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