After a decade of experimentation, companies have yet to find a reliable way to burnish their brands online. Research shows barely more than one in 1,000 people click on banner ads. What’s more, they rarely hang around long enough to absorb a brand message.

Former Madison Avenue hotshot Matt Freeman aims to change all that. Freeman’s company, Betawave, is developing ways to boost visitor “engagement” and plans to charge advertisers not just by each click or view but also by people’s attentiveness. The concept is untested, but it has generated excitement. Several venture capital shops in December put $22.5 million into Betawave. “Matt’s ahead of the curve,” says Sean Finnegan, chief digital officer at Starcom MediaVest, which buys ads for Coca-Cola (KO), Procter & Gamble (PG), Nintendo, and others.

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Former eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman has resigned her seats on the boards of Procter & Gamble (PG), eBay and Dreamworks Animation (DWA), The Wall Street Journal reports, increasing speculation that she may be planning a run for governor of California. The WSJ reports that sources say Whitman will announce her plans in the next four to six weeks.

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