I've been on this kick lately about finding stories that highlight the inevitable unification of Internet and TV. Whether its the rise of IPTV, or the use of fiber optic for production, the 'net' and the 'nightly' are closer than ever. Over all, I'm happy to see this trend, but one thing I didn't factor into the equation was advertising.

What I thought was a quaint little article about Internet pop-up blockers thew me for a loop. Thomas Claburn over at Information Week sites some 81% of broadband users are employing ad-blocking technology. In the same article he goes on to state that 15% of TV households are using DVR technology to do the same thing.

I don't know about you, but in my head, I had never lumped commercials in with pop-ups and spam. For some reason, (perhaps because I work for a TV station) commercials always seemed innocent and good, while Internet advertising seemed like the 4th member of the axis of evil. Is it possible that consumers don't differentiate either? Honestly... probably not. But just like TV trends mentioned earlier, we are headed in that direction.

What all this amounts to, is that advertisers need to be smarter about the way they do things. Take a look at the the "I'm a Mac" commercials from Apple. People flock to the website the day those things come out. The spots have developed a following more typical of a television show than an ad.

I am excited by the prospect that every commercial might be a mini program itself, but not everyone has an Apple Computers budget. Where does this leave local small business owners? I can't see Mikes Sporting Goods, or Hometown Floral spending precious ad dollars on something nobody will watch.

Click READ below for a link to the article.