OneRiot, a leader in the real-time search space has released a new product to target advertisements to users of the real-time Web. RiotWise Trending Ads streams advertisements aimed at trending topics in the real-time Web. These ads will appear in applications that target real-time useres - such as Twitter apps, IM clients and mobile applications. The idea is that users of these services are more likely to be interested in trending topics. Therefore, when an ad is served that appeals to the hot topics of the day, users are more likely to click or be open to branding efforts. Application developers will share in the revenue generated from these ads.
RiotWise Trending Ads are available through their API, as well as new Mobile Ad Units. So far, one real-time player, Digsby, is integrating these ads into their IM and Twitter clients. The ads appear as part of the real-time feeds on users' accounts. This is an interesting departure from "traditional" PPC advertising, in that the individual is not targeted. Rather, the collective trends of an Internet population are targeted. At least in this context, a personalized Web is sort of reverse engineered. Instead of attempting to create an individual experience for each user, the "flavor of the week" is targeted - in effect shaping a user's personal experience based on the moods of others. If anything, it points to the fact that as we become more social on the Web, we are arguably becoming more similar than we are different. It's also a signal that, for success on the real-time Web, businesses need to pay attention to trends and meet the needs and desires of a collective conscience. Be nimble - businesses that can adapt quickly have a better chance of branding with real-time consumers.