Farewell, TV. We hardly knew you.

Nielsen Media Research has come up with a new plan that could bode well for Internet professionals. The company, which usually tracks how many people watch programs, will also now start tracking how many people watch the commercials (or at least keep the television tuned to that station). Experts suspect that this will lead to a decrease in advertising rates for television, which could free marketing capital for online channels.

This is significant for several reasons. First, one must presume that advertisers have suspected for some time that they were spending too much for too little in television ads, because NMR wouldn't have made this change out of abject curiosity. Consequently, they must already be ripe for a change of venue. Second, it means that we have to step up to the plate by putting out great work that delivers results. The interactive media put us in a unique position to target specific audiences and measure the results.

As broadband becomes more ubiquitous, researchers are discovering that certain segments of society are spending more time online than watching TV. One study claimed that Britains between 16 and 25 are dominated by their computers. However, as technology is developed that allows users to block ads, our goal as we create advertising should be to lower the inhibitions of people we are targeting by making the ads relevant to our audience. - Cam Beck