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Gadvert - The Changing Face of Online Advertising
[June 26, 2007]

Gadvert - The Changing Face of Online Advertising


TMCnet Contributing Editor
 
Ours is a time in which nearly anything can be accomplished with a few keystrokes or mouse clicks using the Internet.  But, if it takes three clicks to perform a task, the desire is to be able to do the same in two; and if it takes two, then why not in just one?  The combination of simplicity and time savings dominate today’s application developers as they look to improve upon existing Web-based activities.


 
QuietAgent, the anonymous online headhunter, in doing its part to save a click, has introduced a new rich-media tool called the 'gadvert' — a “gadget that thinks it's an advert” — which it says will revolutionize the value proposition of online advertising campaigns.  The QuietAgent gadvert is an online banner advertisement that turns into a mini-application or 'gadget' with a click.
 
'Gadgets' or 'widgets’ facilitate real-time Web-based activities, like monitoring stock movement, getting news updates, and checking local weather reports. They can also incorporate simple tools within Web sites. So far, most advertising gadgets have been tools that merely host summarized information from another source (for example, lists of cities or airports) and link users out to other Web sites for more information.
 
QuietAgent, however, seeks to take the widget a step further, to help users actually interact with its job seeker Web site in real-time. They can explore the database for a job they would consider doing, enter their desired salary, relevant work history and education details, and QuietAgent will keep tabs on any job that meets their minimum criteria.
 
"We target the 90 percent of working people who don't use job boards and aren't interested in time-consuming signup processes, so we needed to offer a simple registration experience — one that didn't divert people away from what they were doing for very long," said Jason Kerr, CEO of QuietAgent.
 
The gadvert can be hosted on any Web site. Users click on the gadvert to display the application, which guides them through completing an anonymous registration.
 
QuietAgent partner Web sites include the Forbes Career Center, alumni social networking organization Harris Connect, and a growing number of employer association Web sites globally. An education campaign to job seekers starts this month via advertising channels such as ABCnews, MarketWatch, and the Wall Street Journal.
 
Niladri Sekhar Nath is a contributing writer for TMCnet covering telecommunications, service providers and networking
 
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