As an ex-Yahoo!, this is exactly the sort of thing that cheesed me off while I was still working there.
Best memory: not being allowed to use javascript-enhanced sliding panels for pagination, as the reduction in full page refreshes when navigating would have negatively impacted the Ad Impression stats.
(That and the quarterly lay-offs. Good motivational tool, that one.)
One of the smart things in Instant for google with instant is positively impacting the Ad Impressions. (page load still not necessary - but ads refresh with the search results)
I won't be surprised if the idea sparked more as an effort for 'How do we increase ad impressions? ' than search assistance for user.
Best memory: not being allowed to use javascript-enhanced sliding panels for pagination, as the reduction in full page refreshes when navigating would have negatively impacted the Ad Impression stats.
(That and the quarterly lay-offs. Good motivational tool, that one.)