Google, the operator of the world's most popular Internet search service, plans to announce an agreement today with some of the nation's leading research libraries and Oxford University to begin converting their holdings into digital files that would be freely searchable over the Web.

Running links to rivals' sites is confusing and exploitative, the insurer argues in court.

A survey of search engine advertisers found that the No. 1 objective for their search marketing programs is building brand awareness, rather than generating sales. In the survey, carried out by the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization, 61 percent of respondents said increasing brand awareness of products was an objective of their paid placement campaigns. The response narrowly beat sales and lead generation. The survey, conducted by IntelliSurvey, polled 288 search advertisers and agencies.

When not writing this column, I'm usually analyzing and interpreting lots and lots of buzz; buzz on forums, buzz on blogs, buzz around the water cooler. Marketers actually pay for this analysis because it shines a light on how consumers think and feel. That, in turn, informs better assumptions about what's coming. This always comes in handy when spending money, planning a marketing campaign, or dodging an attack. So with buzz as a backdrop, I couldn't resist the temptation to wrap up the year with a few predictions for 2005 about marketing and advertising, informed by both consumer and industry …

There are few opportunities for really tailoring a Web address to a profession. A marketing-minded lawyer, for instance, cannot register a domain that ends in ".esq" (as in www.bigsettlements.esq), any more than residents of the ivory tower can market themselves at www.smartypants.phd.

The walls surrounding America Online Inc.'s well-manicured gardens are crumbling: AOL is abandoning its strategy of exclusivity and will free much of its music, sports, and other programming to nonsubscribers, in hopes of boosting ad sales.

News and information junkies are taking a new look at RSS, a technology that helps them feed their habit without getting overwhelmed in the clutter of the information age. News organizations and Web log commentators constantly update hot stories, and RSS technology can help people stay abreast of the latest developments. But RSS is about more than the latest news. Some online shoppers use it to keep an eye out for rare items that come up for bid on eBay.

School teacher George Masters has the marketing world abuzz with a homemade ad for Apple Computer's iPod that is rapidly "going viral." To some experts, Masters' ad heralds the future of advertising. Homemade ads will play a big part in marketing, just like blogging is shaking up the news. Masters' 60-second animated ad features flying iPods, pulsing hearts and swirling '70s psychedelia. It's set to the beat of "Tiny Machine" by '80s pop band the Darling Buds.

The day may finally be coming when you will be allowed to make calls on your own cellphone from an airliner. Trouble is, so will the passengers sitting on either side of you, and in front and in back of you, as well.

Online DVD rental leader Netflix Inc. is putting social networking on its marquee of coming attractions for next year.