The ad exchange model really started back in 1996 with Flycast -- but Flycast was far too early. It promised a self-service platform for agencies to manage their own network buys and people took note. I tested it back then and it was a great solution, but it never saw the widespread adoption that one would have hoped for.

This second act of the exchange model promised the same level of access and control on a broader scale -- but the simple fact was that exchanges are not that simple. They're complex, they require training and just as much, if not more, work than the current model for online buy management. As a result, the exchanges have not taken the foothold that they'd hoped.