One of the top blog & site monetization stories of 2005 was that of Chitika eMinimalls, which are interactive web ads which display products, reviews, ratings and links from merchants carrying those porducts. After its initial launch, Chitika eMinimalls were garnering higher cost-per-clicks in some situations than Google AdSense which led to an all out mass blanketing of sites with Chitika ads.

Then, the Chit Hit the Fan when Chitika (which ironically translates to chicken poop in Brazilian slang) delayed revenue audits, changed eMinimalls, and dropped CPC rates as the boost in exposure did not lead to the intended purchases from the merchants.

Read more about the Adsense alternative from Chitika at http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=2739.