Page 179 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

Weaving a Web of New Media

UPN, WB, and PAX—fell from 70 percent to 30 percent. During the
same period the cost of running a 30-second commercial during prime
time went from $57,900 to $120,500. Millions of people had stopped
watching these broadcast channels, yet the cost for ads went up. The
same thing was happening with newspapers where readership fell 30
percent in 30 years. In both cases, the “cost per eyeball” was increasing
while the number of eyeballs reached was decreasing.

Weaving a Web of New Media

In 1993, the traditional mass media were confronted by a new technol-
ogy that would dramatically change how people use media: the World
Wide Web. Thanks to this technological advance, people could “surf ”
the Web to find the entertainment and information they wanted when
they wanted it. This new media gave people something they didn’t
have before: control.
With the ability to choose what they wanted to see and when, Inter-
net audiences grew rapidly. It became the fastest growing media of all
time. Advertisers didn’t wait long to join the party. A year after the 169
Web launched, the first online ad reportedly ran on Hotwired. The
first ads were static banners, followed soon by buttons and sponsor-
ships. The slow download speeds of dial-up modems didn’t allow for
the types of interactive ads we see today. Many large companies saw
the value of having a Web presence and built sites. The buzz about the
Web grew, and with it grew a vision of an uncontrolled, unregulated
Wild Wild West of entertainment, information, and commerce.
Today, the Internet has become a key source of information and
commerce for people and businesses. Nearly 75 percent of the U.S.
population has access to the Internet at home or work, and two-thirds
use it regularly. For advertisers, it is becoming the next big media
to dominate our culture. Unlike TV, which created a generation of
passive viewers, the Internet has grown into a community of interactive
users.
Internet advertising revenues were expected to top $9 billion in
2004, up by nearly 40 percent from 2003. At its current growth
rate, it could become the third-largest media advertising category by
2010. Several factors make the Internet such an attractive place for
advertisers:

• Growing global audiences
• Low ad costs relative to mass media