Google slapped an animated banner ad (promoting its own Nexus 7 Android tablet) on its distinctively bare homepage last month, a move that was a bit surprising to users and industry observers. This wasn’t the first time Google used its homepage to shine the spotlight on its own products, but what does this mean for the industry overall? Are we going back to the days of the portal? The search giant isn’t the only big media company doing this kind of thing. “The real trend here is that these companies are all attempting to win the war by monetizing eyeballs, clicks, shares and recommendations, creating a virtuous circle of user engagement and revenue generation.” (Marketing Land)
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