In the display world, Google has fared pretty well of late. YouTube will turn a profit this year. And the Google Content Network enjoys 80% reach globally, becoming a staple on most every media plan that includes online ad networks. And Google's success in display can be largely attributed to incorporating key features of SEM.

Last week, Business Insider reported that comScore's data, which showed Yahoo and Bing gaining market share against Google for the past two months, is misleading. The increase being shown by the two -- shall we call them underdogs? -- is generated pretty much entirely by "contextual search." In other words, it's not that more people are thinking, "Good question! I'll Yahoo! it," or, "I really need a decision engine instead of a search engine for this query." Instead, what's happening is that Yahoo and Bing are disguising search queries as normal links and slide shows. To you and me, we've …

Much has been written about Google's acquisition of Invite Media, but I have seen very little commentary about its potential impact on search marketers. Most of us have viewed this acquisition as yet another Google foray into media beyond paid search. Google has been making investments like this for some time, right? My opinion is that this acquisition will eventually have more impact on search marketers than any single event of the past several years.

At last week's national Business Marketing Association conference in Chicago, three marketing executives from three well-known B2B brands each announced their organizations were rethinking the role of marketing within company structure. Is this a wave?

About two weeks ago, Google refused a German request for WiFi data and other packets of data that were captured by Chevy Cobalt crawlers for the company's German Streetview maps feature. In the last few days, however, company strategists have changed their minds and granted the request in order to avoid what may have been perceived as a "declaration of war" against those requesting the data.

Despite everything I hear about focus making us more effective, I'm a chronic multitasker. So you can imagine my concern when I read this article from the New York Times about our brains on computers. We're losing all ability to focus, claims Matt Richtel. "While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress. And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist."

In California, former Facebook chief legal honcho Chris Kelly is running to secure the Democratic Party nomination for attorney general. Meanwhile, former E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman is running for the Republican Party nomination for governor, even as Carly Fiorina, former HP CEO, is running for the Senate nomination. At the same time, Hearst, that company founded by the famous muckracking political king-maker William Randolph Hearst, has been busy buying up iCrossing. So what do these things have in common? Call it the continuing convergence of old and new, of analog and digital. New money buying political prestige. Old money buying …

Hot search trends can be fun to watch. As one would guess, the latest celebrity gossip often tops the trend charts. In looking at Google Trends following the May 26th season finale of "American Idol," it was clear to me that I wasn't the only viewer that had stopped watching. At 10:45 pm EST that night, the first mention of "American Idol" in the Hot Searches ranked #16 on the list. Yet just a few seasons ago, you could look at Hot Searches and predict "Idol"'s winner.

Up to this point in our history, the recorded narrative of any society came from a small sliver of the population. Only the wealthiest or most learned received the honor of being chronicled in any way. Average folks spent their time on this planet with nary a whisper of their lives recorded for posterity. They passed on without leaving a footprint. But today -- or if not today, certainly tomorrow -- all of us will leave behind a rather large digital footprint.

As many of you know, Google introduced Google TV a couple of weeks ago at its I/O developer conference. Details have been posted via Google blog post , intro video, and developer guide. Conspicuously missing, though, was any information about advertising via Google TV. So, on the off chance Google hasn't yet figured out the proper ad format for Google TV, I thought I'd share some suggestions.