LinkExchange, Investment Bank Planning New Web Census

Investment bank Hambrecht & Quist and LinkExchange, a cooperative advertising network, launched “WebCensus,” a quarterly study of Web attitudes and usage trends.

The public is invited to participate in the 60-second survey, which will address a different theme each quarter, the companies said. This quarter’s WebCensus queries users on the time they spend on the Web versus competing media. The results will be analyzed and published each quarter on the WebCensus home page.

“By teaming up with Hambrecht & Quist we can answer some of the most compelling questions new media professionals face today: What turns Web users on and what turns them off? Where do they like to spend their time? Which browsers do they prefer? We hope that WebCensus will become a vehicle for all of us to better understand our fast-growing industry,” said Tony Hsieh, co- founder of LinkExchange.

WebCensus will be advertised on the LinkExchange network via a banner ad campaign. When a user clicks on the ad he or she will be taken to the WebCensus site and invited to fill out a quick survey of demographic and topical information.

“By teaming up with LinkExchange we can leverage the reach of the LinkExchange network in order to provide the Internet and investment communities with meaningful data about the growing Internet marketplace,” said Daniel H. Rimer, Internet analyst at Hambrecht & Quist LLC. “The findings of each WebCensus survey will help uncover important patterns and trends in Internet adoption and usage.”

Founded in March of 1996, LinkExchange claims a membership of more than 200,000 Web sites that exchange millions of ads every day. Hambrecht & Quist, founded in 1968, is a full-service investment bank focused on growth companies whose businesses are characterized by innovation and structural change.