Total advertising spending in the United States is projected to increase 5.1 percent in 2005. Growth in the Internet sector expected to be 11.2 percent, according to a forecast from TNS Media Intelligence Service, relayed by the Center for Media Research. The projection expects ad spending to total $278.5 billion in the U.S. Online spending is expected to be about $11.5 billion, or 4.1 percent of the total. In 2004, according to these same estimates, online sites garnered $9.5 billion, or 3.6 percent of the $264.2 billion spent on all forms of advertising. These projections put year-over-year Internet advertising growth at 21 percent.
In a related development, Direct Marketing News had a piece touting the launch of ReachLocal, which “provides local businesses with prominent placement in local search results” within geographic areas. An item from SocalTech.com says ReachLocal is backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners and is headed by Zorik Gordon. Getting local advertisers in the habit of advertising online would surely grow the slice of the ad pie going online. I would expect there are other comparable services but as yet I haven’t stumbled across them. Finally, I had a moment of self reflection after yesterday’s post in which I suggested that specialized links would complement the usefulness of blogs. Like, hullo, Tom, have you taken your own advice? Obviously, not yet, but I will as soon as I can manage the time to start compiling links. The harder part will be coding the display to present the links alongside the text. Normally I would dedicate some weekend hours to such a task, but this weekend I’m heading up to our family retreat in Humboldt County. My spiritual battery is weak. A couple of days in the Redwoods is just what I need to recharge. See you Tuesday!

Tom Abate
MiniMediaGuy
Cause if you ain’t Mass Media, you’re Mini Media