Advertising is good for me.

As Lacy said, when measuring online traffic, which record mouse clicks (page views) is not appropriate, what method should be used to measure real Web numbers? I do not have the right answer to this question. Most online research papers are likely to measure online traffic by measuring the number of clicks. For instance, A-list blogs were determined by the standard, which is measuring how many users read the page and how many other blogs or Web sites it is linked to. Based on this measurement, we assume that A-list blogs play a key role in connecting with other blogs that share similar political stances and ideologies. There are, of course, always concerns about click fraud; however, Jarvis’ article about the lessons from Google can be applied to Craigslist as well. Craigslist also focuses on talent, which represents a consumer-driven business that provides a community service. I believe that the success of Craigslist is a unique case, which sticks to old-fashioned ways. Most importantly, it is free from advertising pressure. However, I wonder how many any other companies can success as they do so far. Google and Craigslist are monopolies that impede other companies from entering this area. If other companies want to be like them, they must have more attractive content or guarantee more opportunities for a user-friendly platform.

I am more likely to depend on other users’ comments on products when I purchase relatively cheap items such as clothes and cellular phones. However, my attention is more likely to be influenced by advertising when I purchase relatively expensive products, such as a car or furniture, because I believe that advertisements offer more credible information about those products. In short, even though I believe that people are as good and trustworthy as Newmark believed, I do not usually trust information from anonymous users.