Ad Tech Has Lost Its Damn Mind…





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Adtech Has Lost Its Damn Mind





Exhibit A // source

Exhibit B // source





Did Jason Kint Mention “Duopoly” This Week?





Is it any wonder that someone who commits twitter autofelatio on the regular would force “duopoly” eight times in a single twitter exchange?

Current streak: 8 weeks







Other Articles





Vice Media Laying Off 2% of Staff

Ryan’s take: Remember when I thought the Vice funding sounded fishy? This sounds even fishier. They get $450MM in funding and proceed cut staff? One of them being the EIC for Vice Sports. Just bizarre. To steal a phrase it feels like Vice is in wartime [ceo] mode… which doesn’t jive with all outward appearances (of a company flying high with a full bank account). Something is up.





Rocket Fuel Sold For A Fraction Of Its Peak $2B Valuation

The first paragraph says it all:

When a company that pulled in over $450 million in revenue in 2016 and over $95 million during the first quarter of this year suddenly sells for just $125.5 million, it raises eyebrows.

I think this is going to be a theme for the next 12-18 months.



Facebook, Seeking to Satisfy Publishers, May Let Them Charge for Articles

Abandon all hope — Ye Who Enter Here! (see I can be dramatic too, Jason Kint)





Don’t do it guys. Please. I’m literally begging you. I know the idea of turning your Facebook users into paying subscribers seems enticing. Like, really really enticing. Think of all the money, manna from heaven. But you’re trading your single most valuable asset (subscriber data) for a rev-shared subscription. This weeks BFD. It’s a terrible deal. Sad!



Sovrn CEO Explains Why He Laid Off 14% Of Workforce

A great contrast with the Vice layoff announcement above. This one is sober, straight forward, and totally rational. Refreshing.



Ad Tech Can No Longer Handle All The Ads Available For Sale

… according to rubicon.



(to be fair the nToggle buy is a really savvy move. honestly I’m surprised someone like appnexus didn’t do this. $40MM doesn’t seem too steep.)



Online Publishers Try Reducing Ads to Boost Revenue

Yes! This is the kind of thinking that will get us out of the place we’re in. Test lighter ad loads. Check all variables. Work in tandem with edit. One size does not fit all but I’d be willing to bet more publishers would improve by losing ad units than not.





Hot Takes



Ads.txt: A Web 1.0 Solution To A Web 3.0 Problem



Why Investors Are Wary Of Ad Tech





Shameless Self Promotion

Podcast Episode #12 // Michael Richardson (AppNexus)

This week I chat with Michael Richardson, a product line manager at AppNexus. Michael works on the header bidding side at AppNexus and we go in depth on all things header. What the future looks like, what’s up with server side, will it work with video, has anyone ever seen a juniper berry in real life? Important stuff.









Thanks for reading and have a great week! Or don’t. I’m not the boss of you.

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