“Meet the new boss; same as the old boss”

NYTimes: Hulu Questions Nielsen’s Count of Its Audience

“Web publishers are never entirely happy with the online ratings they receive from measurement companies. Their internal numbers, collected via clicks to their servers, are almost always higher than the third-party estimates. But the third-party figures act as the currency for promoting sites and selling ads, making them the lifeblood of the industry.”

“It is a pivotal time for Hulu. Analysts say the site has struggled to sell out its advertising inventory amid the rapid gains in traffic. Visitors often see public service announcements in place of paid advertisements when they watch episodes and short clips.”

RRW: Stats Need Standards

“The real problem here, of course, isn’t even about knowing exactly how many people watched videos on Hulu last month (even though we have to admit that this discussion is quite interesting in its own right). Instead, this kerfuffle once again shows how hard it is to correctly estimate usage numbers on the web, especially in the absence of any real standards. As every blogger can easily attest, three different stats programs will give you three different numbers.”

While the IAB issued Audience Reach Measurement Guidelines to try and settle the panel-centric versus server-centric measurement debate, it occurs to me as pointless. It is just elaborate and expensive game of advertising and measuring advertising. It is an endless game of hide and seek that will hopefully, one day, drive them all mad.

So, where does user-centric fit into this conversation? Maybe it is time for a fresh approach? I’m spending some time with Doc Searls’ ideas about the Intention Economy:

Is “The Attention Economy” just another way for advertisers to skewer eyeballs? And why build an economy around Attention, when Intention is where the money comes from?