New numbers out on Internet ad revenue show an estimated 34% jump last year to a record $16.8 billion. These figures are pretty powerful, and they explain a lot of what's been going on in the media recently.

The study was conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. They had this to say about the big year:

"The continued growth in Interactive advertising is clearly based on marketers' recognition that they connect with consumers most effectively through Interactive media," said IAB CEO and President, Randall Rothenberg. "The increase underscores marketers' understanding that Interactive advertising can engage consumers, build brands and sell products and services," he continued.

"Results for 2006 confirm a very healthy environment for online advertising," said David Silverman, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "All signs point to a steady increase in the level of spend by traditional advertisers that are using online advertising as an important part of their media mix."

If you look at how the mainstream media have been rushing to participate in the online conversation recently -- just review our posts on USATODAY transforming its online presence into a social media site and washingtonpost.com's decision late last year to allow comments on all stories -- you can see they recognize the importance of this shift in ad dollars.

What does this mean for communicators? It simply means that the media we work with daily are rushing online and will be putting more resources and emphasis in this area. If we're not playing in this arena, we'd better get there fast.

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