Online advertisers want one thing:  to make an impression on as many eyeballs as possible.  Websites want two things:  compelling content and revenue-generating traffic.  Users want three things:  internet transparency, interesting content, and a way to customize their web. 

Most have given up hope that a vehicle exists that can deliver everything to everyone, resulting in over ten years of e-turf wars.  Websites reserve premier real estate for their content, relegating advertisers to sidebars and headers.  Advertisers play catch-up by distracting users away from content with unreal offers, annoying flash, and intrusive pop-ups.  Users grow tired of the juvenile marketing tactics and frequent websites less.  It's an ugly circle that consumes so much energy that little is left to analyze the possibility of satisfying all parties involved.

But there is a way to make everyone happy:  generate traffic by converting advertisements into compelling user-managed content .  The first question people ask us when we explain this is:  "Why will people come to your site to look at advertisements?"  The second question is often:  "Why will advertisers want to hand any control over to users?"

I'll answer question one first:  you're reading a blog about marketing and web 2.0…you are likely a user advanced enough to recognize how intrusive and offensive online marketing can be.  Like us, you ignore ads or are annoyed by them, and likely have no way to voice your distaste and frustration.  Aren't you insulted by the idea that you can control just about anything on the web, yet are completely shut-out of marketing decisions designed to take from your online experience?  Why should we allow advertisers to hold their noses high and declare mastery of our psyches? 

Blogs forced an ever-reluctant gaggle of network news executives to recognize the collective power of their audience, and there's no reason why advertisers shouldn't accept the same reality.

Instead of struggling to imagine who would visit a site like Brand Jury, ask yourself this:  would you visit a user-driven web 2.0 forum if, by doing so, you could force advertisers to abandon the status-quo in favor of ads forged by a net-wide focus group?  Finding the early-adopter-users may not be a breeze, but the internet is a big place with lots of people, nearly all of whom would much rather see advertisers take a genuinely friendly approach.

Check back tomorrow when we will post the answer to question two.

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