Here’s a high level overview of new features we’ve added since June 2007 of last year (many of which have been added in January):

• Reduced our javascript library to 68KB (smaller file sizes mean faster page loads for you)
• 36 available configurations! (3 Ad Types * 2 Detection Types * 3 Behavior Types * 2 Dismissal Types)
  • 3 Ad Types: TextAds, ImageAds, and NetworkAds
  • 2 Detection Types: Automatic and Let Me Decide
  • 3 Behavior Types: Follow Mouse, Fixed Position Display, Snap to Margins
  • 2 Dismissal Options: Smooth Fad and Explode
• Improved ad format that looks great in Opera, IE6/7, Firefox, and Safari
• Removed annoying categories feature, making forms simpler to fill out
• Copy & paste your ShoppingAds® code to easily create NetworkAds
• Cleaned up UI to make it easier to understand how to get the ads running
• Added ability to delete websites and ads
• Added ‘Cancel’ button on the ad and website forms
• New preview feature (see emptyspaceads running on your site) actually works… well!
• Adding metrics such as number of times ad displays, number of times the user mouses over the ad, and how many seconds the user hovered over the ad
• Removed portions of our website dealing with advertisers (we’re looking to partner with Ad Networks)

Quite unexpectedly while I was in the #wordpress channel on freenode, and Sridhar of howtotuts decided to give emptyspaceads a try. He put our ads on his site and is currently serving a mix of TextAds and NetworkAds from ShoppingAds. Sridhar has vast tomes of how-tos and tutorials over at howtotuts, so head on over there and check it out!

PS: Hang out on IRC? Check out our #emptyspaceads channel on freenode where we offer free, live support (if we’re available, that is :P).

PPS: Are you running emptyspaceads?  Let us know and we’ll feature you in a blog post all about your site :)!

*UPDATE* Check Sri’s review of emptyspaceads. Thanks Sri!

After nearly 4 months of development, many hours of programming, working with an amazing team and advisors, I’m pleased to announce emptyspaceads has launched its super alpha test to friends & family on 6/17/2007 12:00AM PST! We’re really giddy as we feel we’re on the cusp of something very large. We were really online 6/9/2007, but we wanted to take a week to build compatibility for IE5.5, IE6.0, and other browsers suffering from birth defects.

Every component of the web has been monetized: links, images, banners, content, but never emptyspace! It’s been a relatively worthless, yet necessary medium for the past 12 years the Internet has been alive. Emptyspace has generally been used to make a site visually pleasing. Now we’re packing the emptyspace with value, allowing our web publishers to turn their emptyspace into cash money. Check out our demo.

I don’t want to re-hash our milestones but here’s an overview of what we’re announcing:

• A patent filing to protect our proprietary technology and innovation in this space
• Dynamic ads that track mouse position and only appear in a site’s emptyspace
• Ability for users to ’shake to remove’ an ad that they don’t want to see anymore - see it flung off the screen!
• ImageAd and TextAd (see formats for more details)
• Unlimited ‘In-Site’ emptyspaceads for publishers (ads that appear on your site and link elsewhere on your site) during our alpha period… so signup now already!
• Advanced tracking & statistics (including negative feedback) for publishers and advertisers
• Ridiculously easy to get started: cut and paste our JavaScript code to your site - instant emptyspaceads appear!
• And more! Don’t worry we’ll cover these issues and more in future blog posts.