A Report of the Working Group on Internet Advertising
The Coalition for Networked Information
September 28, 1994
Billboards
Billboards are the signs on the road that tell about services on or near the road — in this case the Internet equivalents of hotels and motels, tourist attractions, restaurants, and gas stations. They are most acceptable when they appear in context, most reviled when they are scattershot attempts to find audiences in unlikely spots.
A billboard might be a press release or product announcement on a list or newsgroup devoted to a related topic. For instance, a list devoted to public-access library catalogs might accept a posting from a company that helps institutions computerize their card catalogs.
Some lists tend to get more billboards than others. On com-priv, where participants discuss the commercialization and privatization of the Internet, related advertising is viewed with equanimity:
To: com-priv@psi.com
Subject: Re: Internet Business Report and Internet
Letter Date: Mon, 15 Nov 93 23:27:22 EST
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or Internet Letter
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Commercial Opportunities in the Networking Age
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Mstrange@Fonorola.Net
[From: mstrange@fonorola.net (Strangelove Press)
Date: Mon. 15 Nov 93 23:27:22 EST]
Alt-wedding, a Usenet discussion group important to those who are planning weddings, is not comfortable with advertising, and participants gently make their feelings known when advertisers invade their space:
From: [information deleted]
Newsgroups: alt.wedding
Subject: Wedding Coordinator
Date: 6 Jan 94 19:46:06 GMT
Followup-To: alt.wedding
Organization: IRHE
Lines: 25
Hello Everyone:
I am so happy that so many are going to be married
soon. Wedded Bliss!
Nothing like it.
My name is [name deleted] and I live in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. I wanted to let you all know that I
am a professional wedding coordinator and would be
happy to extend my services to you. I can work with
you even if you do not live the Philadelphia area.
I specialize in wedding budgets $5,000 and under.
I can be reached via e-mail or phone at ....
during the day. Should you want additional
information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
My mailing address is as follows:
....[name and address deleted]...
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
# # #
From: [information deleted]
Newsgroups: alt.wedding
Subject: APOLOGIES FOR AD
Followup-To: alt.wedding
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 10:00:39 -0500
Organization: IRHE
Lines: 8
In response to the ad I placed about a wedding
coordinator, I want to apologize for sending my ad
through this forum. I have offended a few and they
have let me know.
Never again will I make that mistake.
[information deleted]
The participants in alt.wedding, who are more interested in the flames of passion than in flaming, probably treated [the poster] gently. Billboards for products unrelated to the subject under discussion on lists and newsgroups may very well engender unprintable words and threats — “flaming.”
But where such advertising is allowed, it is often most welcome, because the participants in these lists and newsgroups have joined to get the kind of information advertisers can provide.
For advertisers, billboards on lists and newsgroups that allow it are opportunities to reach people who have already expressed an interest in the kinds of products and services offered. These people are, in marketing terms, “pre-qualified”: they care about these products and services.