E-Media Tidbits

maps.google.com Like the info bubbles on Google Maps? Then you've enjoyed Ajax.

The MediaWeek piece specifically targets Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) -- a slick technology that brings massive interactivity to Web sites without the obstacle of page refreshes. If you've used Google Maps, you've used -- and probably, enjoyed -- Ajax functionality.

But here's the rub: Established ad models rely on page views as a key metric. Since Ajax removes page views from the equation, how can sites sell against this technology?

According to MediaWeek, Nielsen/NetRatings will soon integrate a "total time spent" measurement into traffic data. Essentially, the more time people spend on a site (or page, or section), the more value it should offer an advertiser.

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That's a nice idea, but there's a hitch: The adoption pattern for new metrics is glacially slow. Heck, some people still measure "hits" -- a data point that's been arcane for nearly a decade. So how long will it take for old-school ad agencies and advertisers to catch up to the paradigm-shift of "total time spent?"

The real question for Web publishers is this: Do you adopt a useful, innovative tool like Ajax and absorb a potential revenue hit, or do you take a conservative approach and wait for the industry to catch up?

Related note from the editor: In a Feb. 9 AP story, usability expert Jakob Nielsen observed that many news sites force visitors to click multiple times to read longer stories in sections. "Because you are measuring the wrong things, you are driving your project in the wrong direction. You are not maximizing what causes value. You are maximizing the things a computer can count easily."