iPad: Privitising or opening the Internet?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 28, 2010 at 5:23 PM

The launch of the iPad yesterday is the next step in the "device-based walled gardens," Randall Rothenberg, of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, wrote. Amazon's Kindle has built a higher wall, as anything capable of surfing the Web "still hints at the larger world." Other gated communities include the Sony Playstation, Microsoft's xBox, Netflix Streaming and more, he stated in his iab column/blog (which he has dubbed a "clog").

As walled gardens and gated communities are created, the big question that arises for content creators is: "How fragmented will the advertising supply chain become?"

Web-based marketing has grown thus far because everything is connected and the Web is standardized. When a company can't sell advertising across multiple devices, the advertising economy can become very splintered, Rothenberg stated.

Yet, others believe the launch of devices like the iPad only increase potential for marketers, Mobile Marketing Watch reported today: "The iPhone opened new possibilities in the areas of mobile advertising, branded mobile apps, in-app advertising and content distribution in general. Adding iTunes-based payments to the mix created the vibrant ecosystem we see today, and that success will parlay into the iPad as well- with a larger screen to engage users further."

Michael Chang, CEO of California-based Greystripe, told MMW that the iPad also allows advertisers to better target consumers. "Imagine watching a traditional television show in which the commercial shown was targeted toward people like you for a shop down the street," he said. "A single touch of the screen could pull up store hours, coupons and the phone number.

The launch of the iPad also provides advertisers and publishers with an opportunity to jump in quickly in order to measure response, behaviours and trends to find out what iPad owners want, The Atlantic reported.

"Sites are where the action will be -- more so than apps. It's not the ads, it's the brands that people will want to engage with (or click away from). The question then is, how must a brand make its presence felt on any device or better yet across all them, seamlessly, so the audience allows them "in" to their world: why should I let you in or care that you are already there? I own the delete button, pal. Prove yourself. The iPad is another door to me," a publisher told The Atlantic.