The document discusses online algorithms and search advertising. It begins by defining online vs offline algorithms, using the example of bipartite matching. It then discusses the online bipartite matching problem and analyzes a greedy algorithm, showing it achieves a competitive ratio of at least 1/2. The document next discusses the history of web advertising and the development of performance-based advertising using Adwords. It analyzes different algorithms for allocating ads, showing the BALANCE algorithm achieves a competitive ratio of approximately 0.63.