New advertising developments in podcasting and RSS - with cool Eels music video ;)

Feedster is offering an advertising solution for not only blogs but for in RSS and supposedly even in podcast advertising. Link

Feedburner is now prepared to support Google's Adsense for RSS in their newsfeed services. Link.

As has now been widely reported, Google has launched a trial program enabling AdSense in RSS, and FeedBurner has implemented support for this capability. Google is currently testing this program with just a few publishers, but as the program becomes more widely available, and your Google AdSense id is approved for use with RSS ads, FeedBurner will take care of the rest as part of our suite of services. Google's AdSense implementation is based on editing your source feed template. FeedBurner makes it simple to implement the AdSense service if you can't or don't want to edit your source feed templates, or you just want additional flexibility in determining frequency of ads, ability to prevent ads on short posts and other ad control mechanisms for your feed.

We will activate our Google AdSense service as the trial expands beyond the initial pilot group of publishers.

On a side note, I've noticed Engadet and a few others just started putting Google's Adsense ads in their news feeds within the last week or two. At this point I've found these ads non-distracting as they're simple text based ads at the end of the post. However, I expect advertisers boldness will grow but I'm not really worried about the potential for clutter because news feeds have several defining characteristics that put the people in control to give advertising in this medium balance.

First, news feeds are a traffic enabling tool for most players, to tax the lines of first contact could very well cause a downturn in traffic if it is not done discretely.

Secondly, RSS news feeds are a "trusted source / subscription based" mechanism. This is the inverse of email... instead of content creators pushing, the audience is pulling. At any point the audience members can simply unsubscribe. Therefore the tolerance for advertising is very finely balanced unlike email advertising, TV, or nearly ALL other mechanisms. Balance and trust are the key, unlike TV and traditional media where advertising is often "forced down the pipe" and viewers have little control but to mute, change the channel, or thank the gods they have a Tivo.

Finally, there's the issue of the sheer plenitude of services, the new information ecosystem is so abundant that there is no lock-in. Let's take gadgets for example. If Engadget offends me and looses my trust I have Gizmodo and about 40 other gadget blogs with which I can pick up the same information without missing a beat. In fact in my case I subscribe to them all already so it's merely a matter of dropping any offenders. Yes, btw, I do get duplicate posts, but this is actually a great thing... new media is a conversation, having several "friends" mention something serves as emphasis and offers perspectives. Redundancy also serves to ensure I don't miss anything. Still, it something few people understand. This redundancy couldn't possibly be a better thing, the same as reblogging. It's the interlinking and redundancy that makes blogging such a healthy medium.

What these three points add up to is that if RSS ads get to distracting I and many others will simple unsubscribe from the offending feeds which will cause a disproportionate downturn in their traffic for these players... or we will simply turn to ad blocker type plugins and mechanisms. Yes, consumers can now get as obnoxious as advertisers. Horaay! :)

Finally, the big news of the day: the Dawn and Drew Podcast is now advertising for Durex Condom new flavored condoms. They supposedly have already had a taste testing session... Dawn, Drew AND their dog, though I admittedly have not listened to the show. link

Condom maker Durex bought ad space on the Dawn and Drew Show, a popular program with people who tune in to PodcastAlley.com, Ad Age reported: Podcasting gives Durex "a way to demonstrate the brand in a way that's very, very relevant," according to Liz Daney, senior vice president at Fitzgerald & Co., the unit of ad firm Omnicom that arranged the buy. "We could have the product actively being used. We're showing it exactly as we want to position the brand, as fun, as playful and sensual," she told Ad Age. The story goes on: "On the first podcast originally uploaded last month, Dawn and Drew and their dog, Hercules , put various samples from a Durex variety pack to the taste test. In a subsequent show, they tried a new line of tingling lubricants." Thrill-a-minute.

Now check out this sweet new music video by the Eels, my new favorite band of the moment. I can't get enough of it, been watching it all week. The lead singer for the Eels does this one in video blogger style, self-shot with camera in hand... one take and all. Complete with him nearly falling over a chair but I liked it. Is this an ad you might ask yourself? I wish I was getting paid, but I think I'm more than capable of being disjointed enough without outside economics. Besides I love it, don't you? Isn't that all that matters. Yee haa! :)

Watch it: heyman.mov
(26mb Quicktime Movie)