It's not news that Web 2.0 hasn't found a way to monetize itself sufficiently - just flip open this morning's paper. While we hate to beat a dead horse, it was impossible to ignore today's success story - a neat start-up working to change that. Jivox, a video advertising network, secured $10.7 million in first round funding this week to chase the dream. So far they've had success by placing ads in user generated video content, and since their inception on March, they've managed to accumulate more than 40 million monthly viewers in the U.S. and India.

Not too shabby. But, what sets Jivox apart from the other video advertising start-ups out there, like Microsoft's partner YuMe? After all, there are plenty of video ad businesses out there looking to compete and snag some of this market share. According to Jivox, the difference is that they go after local advertisers, as opposed to the large brand advertisers. The company also offers do-it-yourself tools, which allow small business owners—who otherwise wouldn't have the resources—to make their own video ad content for free. Also, because these smaller businesses tend to be less concerned about where their ads are placed, Jivox can add them to YouTube-type, user-generated videos. While I particularly hate ads that run at the beginning of a video clip, and even more so in the middle, Jivox says that so far people are responding. Currently 2-3% of users click on their advertisements.