The Internet: For Buyers or Sellers?

I recently was catching-up on some long overdue reading and came across the 3/17/08 edition of AdAge. I particularly enjoyed Matthew Creamer's article "Think different: The web's not a place to stick your ads." Creamer puts forth his position on why he thinks there is reason to be skeptical about the web's effectiveness as an advertising medium. While I don't agree with his argument, I was interested in one of his foundational points that was, well, not his point. He borrows a quote from Jakob Nielsen:

"The basic point about the web is that it is not an advertising medium. The web is not a selling medium; it is a buying medium. It is user controlled, so the user controls, the user experiences."

A Buying Medium. That's a great way to look at the Internet. Although I do feel the two -- advertising and buying -- can co-exist, they should not be co-dependent. Nor should they be equal in their relationship. By far, the "buying" mindset should drive a site's user experience and organization. But when done correctly, advertising can be a part of the landscape without ruining the view (so to speak).