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Berens: Let’s talk about 2006. This is always the tough part of the conversation, because this industry seems to change every six minutes, so, making predictions for next year is challenging.  I am not going to hold you to them. But, if you had any predictions for ad networks in 2006 -- that is Part A. Part B is whether or not you think that as the mobile/local part of the internet builds out, is that going to pose new opportunities, or challenges, for people on networks. But, Part A is generic: we have talked about where we were in 2005; where do you think we are going?

Coffin: It is very hard for me to separate our own business from predictions for 2006, right, because this is the time of year, of course, when we are caught up with predicting 2006 for our business. I would tell you this: we think it is going to be a robust year for the advertising network space. And, we think that critical drivers of success in 2006, for networks, are going to be some of the things that we have talked about -- the ability to provide advertisers with transparency.

I think that it is generally recognized that a big driver of advertising growth online is coming from brand marketers. And, brand marketers are a discriminating set. And, while they have critical performance metrics against which they have to evaluate the success and the strength of their advertising program, baked into that consideration set is, "are we talking to the right people? Are our messages showing up in the right place? Are we supporting the brand proposition that is already out there?" I think networks are going to be called upon to help distribute their messages. And, that is going to require control, accountability, and transparency. So, I think you are going to see a lot of pressure on that. 

Additionally, it has been interesting to read the headlines in the last couple of months, in iMedia and elsewhere, about top websites being sold out of inventory. That bodes well for the network space, generally; because that is absurd -- that the internet is sold out. And, the notion that it is sold out is reflective of some kind of crisis of value that we have online. Because if all of online media and advertising is essentially about, oh say fifty pieces of real estate online, then that is a complete disconnect from how consumers see the marketplace. So, in 2006, I think that -- after a decade of nurturing this industry along -- people are going to be talking more and more about why people use the internet, and how people use the internet. We have really only scratched the surface of that, and that is called paid search.

Berens: Right.

Coffin: And, we got that five years into it, and we have seen how explosive that can be, and how lucrative that can be. But, really, that is only the surface of the internet space, and it is only the basics of how the internet gets used. Ultimately, it is about what is underneath those searches. It is about the ten thousand returns that Google or Yahoo! will provide you when you type in, “cheddar cheese.” And, I think advertisers will be looking to exploit how people use the medium, as distinct from how they use other media, trying to reach them now at the places where they are most predisposed to their messages -- those vertical environments. That is distributed media. Networks, I think, are going to enjoy then a very busy -- and hopefully a very prosperous -- year, because they are the ones that can enable that kind of connection.

Berens: John Battelle, in his book “The Search,” referred to this in the search area as “the database of intent,” and that is the thing that search is capturing so well, and what you think networks are going to be catching up with.

Coffin: Right. Great line. That was easily enough understood. And, we have done an extremely good job of monetizing that intention. And, the next, and most important, and the long-term step after that is to monetize the database of results. And that database is huge. And, it is global. And, it is available to advertisers.

Berens: The second part of that question was the general prediction that, I think, lots of technology watchers are making: that the era of the PC has peaked -- the desktop PC, the laptop -- and that the future of computing, and our engagement with the internet, is going to be mobile, so that you carry the internet with you, like Dick Tracy with the wristwatch. Most marketing is therefore going to be become local marketing, or at least will be perceived to be that. 

From your seat, I don’t know if that sounded logical to you, if that sounds like science fiction.  (I am growing ears, and saying, “Very logical, captain.”) I want to know whether or not this is playing any part in your long-term thinking.

Coffin: We are device agnostic. And, I will be honest, I don’t set aside big chunks of time worrying about how the internet is going to evolve from a distribution standpoint -- from the standpoint that is it going to come over the set-top box, the mobile phone, or the PC. We certainly want to be nimble enough, and have a business model that is equipped to follow it in whatever direction.

I will tell you this, though: it is not by accident that the name of our company, BURST! Media, contains nothing, no reference to “internet,” or “web,” or for that matter, “advertising,” because while we were not, (and still are not), all-knowing and all-seeing when we founded the company ten years ago, we were not so sure but that internet and/or the computer, and/or the word, things like “web” wouldn’t go the way of “Victrola” and “icebox.” What we did know was that there was this enabling technology out there that was going to put content in the hands of people, and that the technology was going to create what we were passionate about -- this distributed media economy. We want to track with that for as long as we possibly can.

Berens: That is very well said. Certainly it is an engaging industry to be in, in terms of how things are changing. That is one of the things that keeps me alert at my desk every day.

Coffin: All of which is well reflected, Brad.

Berens: That is very kind of you.

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