Sometimes I wish i could just sit down and chill. But I cant. Unless my daughter and wife are around, I wont even
try. My wife would tell you that even then…
Its just not my style.
So every day I work, read and wonder. What about this. What about that.
Here are some of the things Im curious why no one has tried yet.
1. Why dont newspapers offer PPC for display ads ?
I dont know what the marginal cost to print a page of a newspaper is. I dont know if it varies by section of the paper
or even if there is a variable cost based on who is writing on those pages.
I dont know how that translates into CPM. My best guess is that there is a nice little arbitrage between the cost per
additional page and doing PPC display ads.
Why not allow advertisers to automate the placement of display ads ?
Why not just let me upload my pdf or gif file that i want to place as my ad ?
Why not include a system generated and monitored URL that can track page views of that URL (the equivalent of a
clicked through page)
Why not charge me based on the number of page views ?
Why not rank positions on the page, just like Search engines do, and make me bid higher to get the better
position.
Why not let me bid the same way for size of ad. The higher I bid per page view relative to other bidders, and as long
as its above the set minimum, why not size and position my ad accordingly ?
Why not let me bid differently for different sections of the newspaper. Sports, Entertainment, Section A, B,
etc.
Of course, all the above could apply to the ads appearing on the paper website as well
Advertisers would have a choice. They could lock in their positioning and pricing, just like they do now. Or, they
could take the PP Page View route and only pay for the traffic generated to their websites. (which could end up costing
more in many cases).
The model could also be enhanced to direct traffic to a virtual phone number for the company. Create an extension on
the advertisers current phone system, or a unique number that is routed to the company that can be tracked and audited
. The advertiser would then pay per call.
There would be minimum bids. There would be a reserve amount per page. If enough ads at the right price were not
received, the page wouldnt be printed. The offering could enable different ads and pricing based on where in the paper
it would be printed.
Of course the ads could also appear on the company website as part of the program or offered seperately.
Its basically PPC for the newspaper world.
What makes it particularly interesting to me is that its the right product at the right time. Search engines are
working hard to localize their search . By definition, the local newspaper is just that. Local. So newspapers could
actually take a quick step ahead of the online world.
Local. Graphical.
And you are reaching consumers where online cant… At least I know a newspaper is far more prevalent where i read
it in the morning than my PC or Sidekick.
Maybe its a stupid idea. I dont know. But it sure seams like it should and would work with a little elbow grease
behind it.
Here is my 2nd idea
Again geared towards the topic of local. Why dont cable and telcos differentiate between local bandwidth and internet
bandwidth.
Bandwidth is far more cheap and available on a private network than it is on a public network.
In my house, my wireless hums at 54mbs. My wired hums at 100 and it would be cheap to upgrade to 1gbs
On the cable and telco networks, the same thing happens. Inside the nodes in every neighborhood, the amount of
bandwidth , particularly in the newer installed networks is huge.
The amount of bandwidth available becomes constrained when networks link to the outside nets and the internet.
With the cost of 1gbs and even 10gbs networking equipment haven fallen so far, its not inconceivable that a
minimum of 100mbs could be offered per home for local for local network access.
In other words, there is nothing that should prevent 2 houses on the same network on the same street from being
able to communicate at 100mbs or more. And there is no reason to stop at houses on the same street. It could be a
neighborhood, town, city, just depending on how the network is designed and configured.
Which leads to the business opportunity.
Why dont the cable and telco providers, as their nets go IP or lay Fiber, add a free or low
cost premium . on network tier of service ?. Call it Your Town Service. 200mbs up and downstream for any
traffic that stays on the local network.
If you want to send the kids home videos that you just captured on your brand new High Def HDV camera and its 10gbs in
size. So what. If grandma subscribes to the same service provider and lives in the network you are part of, she gets it
in a couple minutes.
With that kind of bandwidth and more, all kind of interesting things start to happen. Is the local hospital or your
doctors office on the network ? If it is, then just sit in front of your high resolution webcam and let him take a look
at how that rash is doing…
Of course you would hook up all the schools. Any number of applications come to mind there. Security. Monitoring
classes when sick (sorry kids). Parent teacher conferencing.
Want to produce a neighborhood tv channel that you stream to just the neighborhood ? NO problem. As long as you all
subscribe to the same provider
Local retailers could use webcams to take orders, ask questions, show merchandise. It would give the local merchants
in the area an advantage over the big boys. Which of course would cause the big boys to have locations on the network
in order to compete and participate.
There in lies the opportunity. This is MCI’s friends and family all over again. Its what the wireless
companies are doing with phone service. If you call people on their network there are unlimited minutes. No long
distance charges
So why arent the cable and telcos doing the same thing ?
Why not offer 200mbs network (not internet) , growing to 1gbs service over time , between any local nodes on your
network for an extra 5 bucks per month ? Or even as part of your current pricing ?
If you want 200mbs, the person, place or thing you want to communicate with has to subscribe to the same service and
be on the same network. Think maybe the first network to do this would cause a huge rush for people to
make sure they are on the same network ? THink i wouldnt make sure im subscribed to whatever network my
daughters school is on ? or that my doctor or local hospital is on ?
Think kids wanting to play online games against their buddies wont jump all over this to play at breakneck speeds
?
Internet access would work the same way it always has. Access to the outside internet, would still be at the
1,3,5,10mbs levels of service currently offered.
The first provider to offer this would create a first come, first serve subscriber rush. Just like it was in
long distance and cellphones.
Who ever introduces this first wins.
It would be such an easy sell. Go to the local school, doctors, hospital, employers. Tell them that if they buy
internet access from you, you will give them free 200mbs on network service. Watch how fast they require locals they
communicate regularly with to subscribe to your service.
200mbs plus on network connectivity for next to nothing. Simple to do on a well designed network. Easy money.
Why hasnt it been offered ?
I look forward to reading the comments