Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 19:44, 24 January 2008

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "IntelliTXT" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

IntelliTXT is an advertisement platform developed by Vibrant Media, and is an example of keyword advertising. Website authors insert a script into their pages which calls the IntelliTXT platform when a viewer views the page; this script then finds keywords on the page and double underlines them. When holding the mouse over the double underlined link, an advertisement associated with that word will pop up. Advertisers pay to have their ads associated with particular words. "Context" is considered in an attempt to make the ads relevant to the web page hosting IntelliTXT.

The liability of this feature is that it makes pages more difficult to read; scrolling down the page may inadvertently cause delays while random ads flash on and pause before disappearing.

Publishers choose to run IntelliTXT advertising campaigns on their websites to generate advertising revenue. Some publishers choose to offer a help link inside the IntelliTXT ad box that leads to a page that offers to let you turn off IntelliTXT. Note that deactivation requires the use of HTTP cookie technology. If a user deletes or refreshes their cookies the service will be re-activated automatically and ads will continue to appear on the page. Also, many publishers have a short expiration date on the cookies, so they keep coming back after a couple of weeks or less. Also, since the cookie is stored by publisher, it also means that turning off the feature for one publisher has no effect on the other publishers that use these popups.

Recently, Ryan Block of Engadget posted a pledge to Engadget's readers that as long as he was in control of Engadget he would never use this form of advertising, mentioning IntelliTXT by name. Block abjured his fellow bloggers to shun these types of advertisements. His reasoning is that their potential to mar a user's experience is far greater than any benefit they might accrue.

Customers

According to Vibrant Media, more than 1200 publishers use the IntelliTXT system. Nike, Sony and Microsoft are advertising on the platform, reaching what the company claims to be 70 million unique users each month.

References

1. ""An open letter to friends and colleagues on keyword popovers"".
2. "Vibrant Media Named One of the Fastest-Growing Companies on Inc. 500 List" (PDF).

Einstein, David (2006-06-12). "Computing Q&A: Satellite radio choices are pretty equal". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-05-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Morrissey, Brian (2006-06-12). "Video Ads Spread to Links". Adweek.com. Retrieved 2007-05-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Penenberg, Adam L. (2004-08-18). "This Headline Is Not For Sale". Wired.com. Retrieved 2007-05-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Block, Ryan (2007-08-30). "An open letter to friends and colleagues on keyword popovers". www.RyanBlock.com. Retrieved 2007-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• The IntelliTXT Website
• Vibrant Media Privacy Statement
• Disable IntelliTXT Bookmarklet For Firefox
• Disable IntelliTXT add-in for Safari
• Disable Text Ads Userscript for Greasemonkey

• Articles lacking sources from September 2007
• Advertising and Affiliate Networks