The biggest technology show of the year, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is just about over. If you’ve never been, it can be an overwhelming experience. Companies go all out to show-up one another on the show floor with their massive booths and enormous video displays.

YuMe did not have a booth at CES but I was there to speak on a couple of panels about online video and the changes that it’s bringing to the online advertising space.

On the show floors, companies such as Microsoft and Hewlett Packard used large video screens to showcase their products and services, new technologies that are giving the consumer control over the types of content they want, such as their networked personal library of videos, photos, and music. They’re also showcasing the growing number of video choices available on the Web, from network television shows to feature-length movies.

On Monday, I spoke on a panel called, “Advertising in P2P, Search, Social Media and other Web-Based Services,” sitting alongside others who are also seeing changes in this space.

It was an interesting session and, if nothing else, it just goes to show that this concept of alternative advertising is in its infancy. The alternative ways to get a message across – things such as Facebook “gifts” – are starting to grow and advertisers seem to be receptive to exploring new ways.

One of the things that allows YuMe to stand out in a crowd is its tools for tracking an ad. Advertisers need to know what happens to their ads online, things such as when they were watched and where they were watched – over a peer to peer network, via a social networking site, even over a mobile phone.

Increasingly, advertisers are being presented with new opportunities to put their messages in front of the right audience. As this space continues to evolve, YuMe is committed to help connect advertisers with content providers to give both what they need to move forward.

Jayant Kadambi