Did MySpace Really Beat Yahoo?

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Nielsen//NetRatings is also working on its measurement techniques in response to new technologies. The firm developed a proposal several months ago on how to track Ajax and improve tracking on other technologies such as streaming media, says Manish Bhatia, NetRatings' vice-president of global operations and U.S. sales.

Getting Certified

Changing the metrics alone, however, isn't enough to satisfy everyone. The Interactive Advertising Bureau, an organization of advertisers and major Web companies, is calling for an external audit of both comScore and NetRatings by the Media Ratings Council, the body that certifies measurement practices of media ratings firms such as radio's Arbitron (ARB). "At this point, the only thing we know is that the results are consistently different. What we don't know is why," says Sheryl Draizen, IAB's senior vice-president and general manager. "The differences between the numbers reported by comScore and NetRatings are obviously a big issue for the industry as a whole."

Both comScore and NetRatings say they have begun working with the MRC to get certified. But Draizen says the process is not happening fast enough. "It should be a major priority for them," she says. "It is a real issue to have such different numbers in the marketplace."

For Internet companies and advertisers, determining whose numbers are correct is more important than just crowning the rightful platform king. At stake are the tens of billions of advertising dollars destined for the Web. Internet advertising is estimated to reach $16.4 billion this year, according to research firm eMarketer. The number is expected to grow to $25.2 billion in 2010. Which companies get that money, particularly dollars earmarked for promoting brands and not just directly selling merchandise, will depend largely on who can verify their ad inventory and the size, composition, and engagement of their audience.

May the Best Metric Win

ComScore and NetRatings each believes its own methods the best. ComScore insists that its method of allowing new measurement methods will establish it as the clear innovator. It also boasts that it is able to better measure college students because it offers its software for download over the Internet in exchange for games, screensavers, security software and other items. "We feel we have the advantage," says Abraham.

Nielsen has an edge with its study panel, which was selected via random telephone polls and thus, according to Bhatia, more representative of the general population. He argues that only a particular kind of computer user is comfortable downloading free software over the Internet. "Fundamentally, the quality of the result comes from the quality of the underlying panel," says Bhatia.

Who will win? That will depend largely on who is able to respond fastest to the new technologies that impair the relevance of old metrics, says Peter Daboll, a former president of comScore who now heads Yahoo's global market research department. "Internal server log data, panels—all have their limitations," says Daboll. "I think frankly we just need more innovation."

Holahan is a writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York .