Click fraud has been a major problem that just about every advertiser has had to face at some point in their work. Bot traffic has driven up the costs of clicks and created artificial markets around terms and targets that may not offer a competitive benefit to the advertiser. As a result, the industry has lost billions (roughly $11 billion to be precise). Viewable impressions offer an important guideline that protects advertisers and ensures the integrity of a pageview.

How a Viewable Impression Works

“Impression” is a familiar term to advertisers. An impression refers to a page load, and could easily be mistaken for a bot click. Viewable impressions offer verification that a page view is authentic.

Viewable Impressions measure how long an ad is shown, and how much of the ad is visible. For example, display ads count as “viewable” if the user can see at least 50 pixels of the ad for one second. Bots are designed to click and bounce, visiting the page without emulating the actions that would constitute a view.. Having standards gives the industry some flexibility in measuring a pageview and outsmarting bots and bot traffickers.

Buying Viewable Impressions

Viewable impressions are seeing more demand for obvious reasons, but you have to be careful what you buy and how you buy it. For example, using the standard above would be a simple task for the bot to outsmart. Instead, you can opt for some pre-programmed time slots for longer periods of time.

Beating click fraud is now a concern. Don’t ignore the problem. Take action to be sure that your ads are receiving views, and that your analytics are giving you accurate results based on real human behavior.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is a direct marketing professional with an emphasis on digital advertising. Ted Dhanik is the co-founder of engage:BDR, a Los Angeles based advertising company. Ted Dhanik also blogs for Venture Beat, AdAge and other publications online.


As a part of the Office 2013 update, Microsoft’s Skype for Business, which was released recently, will replace Lync – the older enterprise communication tool currently offered to its Office 365 customers.

It was only a few weeks ago that Microsoft had released a version for technical preview and for that reason also acknowledges that the software might need additional testing. So, customers (and admins in particular) can switch between the older Lync user interface and the new Skype for Business that was just rolled out in the meanwhile.

That said, Microsoft states that this transition to Skype for Business will happen until the end of May.

Now with this software rolled out, customers will have access to Skype which resembles the popular consumer application in look and feel but has added benefits such as compliance features and enterprise-grade security.

All Skype for Business accounts are authenticated through Active Directory and encrypted as well with the IT department being able to both deploy and manage the organization’s respective user accounts. This system can also work with companies and their legacy video teleconferencing systems as well as PBX systems.

Also, Skype for Business customers will now be able to communicate via video, audio and chat within their own company as well as the 300 million customers who have a Skype ID and that use apps in Mac, iOS, Windows, Android and the web.

Finally, Skype for Business has also been built into Office which will make features such as IM, voice, presence and video calls along with online calls a part of Microsoft Office.


LinkedIn, which has been in the business of news, new jobs and where people network for business deals is now set to diversify into social media management with its new app, Elevate.

This app, which is a paid desktop and mobile app which will suggest articles to its users, by using its Pulse and Newsle algorithms and human curation, allows them to share it across Twitter and LinkedIn.

For starters, it’s a paid pilot and much like Facebook At Work, everyone can download the iOS and Android app. Of course, only those signed up for Elevate can use it going forward.

As for general availability, that should happen by the third quarter of this year and which is when LinkedIn will also offer pricing. Prior to this, LinkedIn has also run a pilot of this program with a number of large companies such as Quintiles, Adobe and Unilever.

But if one must understand LinkedIn, it’s really a lighter version of Hootsuite that gives users the ability to schedule and share content across social media networks. It also reminds one of the Daily app from Buffer which uses its technology to share and schedule when to post those links.What is also clear is that the release of this app is to compete against other apps such as Salesforce. Some people are of the opinion that it is all three.

That said, Elevate is not only for social media junkies but for more serious social media and a number of marketing professionals as well.


Written by: The Midland Certified Reagent Company

Summary: DNA synthesis is a real science in use today, and we explore how it’s used.

The movie Gattaca explored the concept of custom DNA taken to its extreme. What if you could tailor make a baby to fit whatever parameters you set for him or her? So called “designer babies” have always been part of the pantheon of horror and sci-fi, but custom DNA synthesis is a real practice used all the time by scientists worldwide. Without the horrifying conclusions.

Here is what you need to know about the lifesaving practice of using custom DNA for research.

Oligonucleotide Synthesis

When scientists want to test how something will react with human DNA, they have to first isolate the relevant genes. They can synthesize a reaction using synthetic RNA or DNA, and record the results. This helps test how a cure might perform on a genetic level, which is basically a testing ground for what might happen in the human body.

DNA tells scientists a lot about our body’s makeup. Since cracking the genome, DNA is like a known quantity. We’ve identified which genes are responsible for certain processes and can test for their reaction to other chemicals.

Other Applications

Custom DNA is just one application for this kind of science. Building modified oligos allows researchers to explore all manner of testing for soil composition or atmospheric science. Using oligos, scientists can find oil in land, explore minerals and test for contaminants. The possibilities are nearly unlimited with customized strands of DNA, and testing is far safer when researchers aren’t putting actual lives at risk.