Glossary: New Media

back channel

Also known as a return path, the back channel is an open data path that allows users to send information back to content providers. Uses range from purposefully sending purchase information via the web to unknowingly returning viewing data to a subscription TV provider’s set top box.

backbone

The internet’s infrastructure of high-capacity data lines which ultimately connect all internet service providers, their clients’ computers and other internet-enabled devices (automatic teller machines, phones, printers, TV sets, etc.).

backhaul

Transferring data or connectivity from a low capacity local site to a network location designed for high capacity connectivity and data distribution. For example, a small store could upload a compelling product demonstration to its parent company’s server so a worldwide audience could download a stream whose high demand would overwhelm the original store’s data resources.

ban

Damaging but justified decision by search engines to remove websites from their indices and results pages. Bans occur as punishment for employing unethical tactics to gain higher rankings in search engine results pages. Prohibited tactics include using link farms, hidden text, gateway pages and duplicating pages.

bandwidth

Also known as throughput, bandwidth defines an internet connection’s download and upload capacity. Dial-up connections provide the lowest bandwidth, whereas a university or corporation’s T-3 lines provide extremely high bandwidth. Home users with broadband DSL or cable connections fall in the middle, but enjoy sufficient bandwidth for most web-based audio and video applications.

banner

A graphic online ad unit that usually appears at the top of a web page and spans its full width (typical pixel specifications are 468 wide x 60 tall). Often static, though sometimes employing small videos or animations, banner graphics generally link to content on the advertiser’s website.

banner blindness

Web surfers’ propensity to disregard all banner ads, even when directly relevant to their personal and purchasing interests.

banner burnout

The condition of a banner ad reaching the point of diminishing returns. When a particular banner displays so often that repeat visitors ignore it, the click-through rate drops significantly.

banner exchange

Agreement between companies, or with an ad network, to display each other’s banner ads. Because traffic can vary widely between the partnering websites, banner ad networks calculate exchange rates that determine how often the banners display. Company A, for instance, may have to display two banners to get one banner exposure elsewhere in the exchange network.

beacon

Known by a variety of names—invisible GIF, pixel tag, web beacon or web bug—the beacon is a link to a nearly invisible graphic (a single pixel) that resides on a website or in an HTML formatted email. When the end user’s computer retrieves the image from the link, the link’s host trolls the user’s cookies to track browsing behavior. While beacons can have benign purposes (monitoring email open rates, for instance), malware programmers employ them as well.

behavioral targeting

The practice of matching ad content to a users’ known media choices. A man who visits ten online fishing sites before moving on to an automotive site, for instance, might see ads for boats and lures in the margins that surround the used car photos. Ads display according to user behavior, not due to contextually similar page content.

bleeding

Disruptive video artifact where colors leak from neighboring objects to distort the original image.

blind link

A misleading hyperlink whose text or graphical representation is more attractive than the link’s destination—which knowing visitors would likely avoid. For instance, a “win an iPod” banner on a health site might take you to a poker site, probably in the service of driving suspect affiliate traffic.

blog

An online journal—a “web log”—that features a mix of frequently updated commentary and links to favored content. Many blogs are intensely personal and quirky, and allow readers to comment upon the posts that they read. Corporate entities have also begun to publish blogs, hoping to take advantage of syndication technologies that allow regular readers to subscribe to new postings or summaries in their email program or feed reader.

blogosphere

The totality of the universe that blogs populate, encompassing the social and intellectual activities they both promote and represent.

blogroll

A navigation bar found in most blogs that includes links to other blogs that the writer reads and values.

bonus impressions

Ad impressions that an ad network or website delivers to a client advertiser beyond those guaranteed in the initial ad buy or insertion order.See also: ad network

bookends

On TV, ads that appear at the beginning and end of a commercial cluster, or at the beginning and end of a program. In online delivery, bookends sandwich video content as pre-roll and post-roll ads.

bookmark

In a web context, a bookmark, or favorite, is a saved link to sites that end users visit often and value. When employed on a TV provider’s set top box, bookmarks identify spots in a program marked for easy recall. Viewers can also set bookmarks to save favorite programs and advertising for later viewing.

bounce

Returning an email to the sender’s mail server as undeliverable because the recipient’s mailbox is over quota, because the mail server is down or because the address is invalid.

bounce handling

Email sender’s protocol for handling returned email. Rigorous bounce handling is integral to efficient email marketing.

bound applications

Programs or features tied to a content provider’s interactive services, from requesting a display of local sports scores to clicking a remote button to see additional information about advertised products.

breadcrumbs

A linear textual display of a visitor’s navigation through a website. Each click triggers the addition—or deletion, should a visitor backtrack—of a new phrase that illustrates where in the website a visitor has landed. When this glossary posts online, a breadcrumb navigation trail would appear at the top of the web page, displaying something like this: “Hawthorne > Resources > NewMedia > B”.

broadband

A high-speed internet connection. Broadband connections available to home users through DSL and cable provide sufficient bandwidth for most new media applications.

buffer

Segment of a computer’s memory that temporarily stores data streaming from one device to another before sending it on to the receiving application with as consistent and stable a transfer rate as possible. The buffer for modest sized data streams will typically reside in temporary memory (RAM); the buffers for extremely large data streams (i.e., DVD burning) reside on a hard disk.

buffering

The process in which a local computer or web server sends data to a temporary storage location in the computer’s memory. In streaming media applications, the buffer houses the data stream until the local media player has sufficient data to begin playing the file.

business hosting

Web hosting services customized for business clients. Reliable business class web hosts guarantee high bandwidth to accommodate heavy consumer traffic, high volume data storage and download capacity, 99+ percent uptime, a site management console, routine data backups, and 24/7 technical support.

button

In a TV set top box interface, a button offers different viewing options that a viewer can click to activate. On a web page, a button is either a click-through chooser graphic or a small square or rectangular ad unit that occupies the margins or an empty corner.

button exchange

Agreement between companies—or with an ad network—to display each other’s button ads. Because traffic varies between partner sites, ad networks calculate exchange rates that determine how often the buttons display. Company A may need to display two buttons to earn a single button exposure elsewhere in the network.