Join us Oct. 15-17 in Phoenix to connect with top media buyers
What is it: The industry catfight over the use of pseudonyms came to light in the privacy community, but crossed over into the advertising industry. Advertisers and publishers have wondered aloud about the potential positives and dangers of a real-name-based advertising ecosystem, wedded with search. Google chairman Eric Schmidt created a stir when he stated to National Public Radio reporter Andy Carvin that he viewed Google+ as essentially an identity service with links around your friends.The controversy was further fueled when Google confirmed to a Wired.com reporter that it was planning to study the use of Google’s +1 clicks, which are pulled from Google+ profiles, as a signal that would influence “the ranking and appearance of websites in search results.”
More in Media

Publisher alliance Ozone makes a larger play for U.S. advertisers
Publisher alliance Ozone is on a growth tear in the US and plans to expand its local headcount to 50 people next year.

Media Briefing: From blocking to licensing, publishers inch toward leverage with AI
There are new levers for publishers to test in the AI era. While they’re still far from holding the upper hand, compared to a year ago, the outlook no longer looks quite so bleak.

Mitigating ‘Google risk’: The Independent maps four-pillar growth plan for the AI era
The Independent has built its growth strategy around the “blue links risk” and has stopped measuring its success by audience reach.