I blogged about intensifying rumors just two days ago, but, if anything, the rumors are getting more intense. CNET is citing sources claiming that Yahoo! is "poised" to launch a contextual ad program similar to Google's AdSense, the ad-syndication program for Websites of all sizes. (Jeff Graham has a good backgrounder in USA Today.)

It's coming. I wonder about a couple of factors that could differentiate Yahoo! from Google. First, Google does not divulge the revenue split with its thousands of partner sites. Although few participants complain of stinginess, the air of secrecy bothers almost everyone. Adding to the sense of constriction is the TOS dictum that forbids participants from disclosing their earnings. Yahoo! could earn a participant base simply be being more open.

Second, Google does not enforce strict accountability from the participating sites, nor enforce its own rules. Once a participant is accepted to the program, after submitting one page for consideration, that person has access to the AdSense code and can easily slap it into any other under that participant's control. Google does engage in some checking and discipline, but the system is seemingly built for abuse, which degrades the experience for advertisers, syndicators, and Google. There's room for improvement here that Yahoo! could take advantage of.