The future of search is, well, conversational. So Google search executive Amit Singhal recently told AllThingsD, citing the fact that the search engine call already reference previous searches to inform a new query. “I wouldn’t be surprised if, in a year or two, we’ll see a much broader conversation happening within search, Singhal said -- “where users can talk to a search engine as if they’re talking to a person.        

 Earlier this week, Google shocked many a Web watcher with plans to shut down its Reader service. Adding to the confusion, the BuzzFeed Network -- which claims to encompass some 300 million users -- is reporting that Google Reader remains a significant source of traffic for news -- “and a much larger one than Google+.” Indeed, “The relative numbers are … surprising,” Buzzfeed writes. “Google+ barely moves the needle for sites across the [Buzzfeed] network, while Reader is a healthy source of readers.” 

Due to habit or confusion, it’s common for Facebook users to include hashtags in updates -- even though the markers don’t categorize information like they do on Twitter. That, however, is about to change,  The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources. “Facebook is working on incorporating the hashtag, one of Twitter's most iconic markers, into its service by using the symbol as a way to group conversations.” 

Consumers aren’t happy with Google’s decision, this week, to scrap Google Reader. In fact, a Change.org petition demanding that Google let Reader live has already attracted more than  47,000 signatures. “In case you don’t know, Google Reader is an RSS reader that lets you subscribe to many feeds from around the web,” Venture Beat notes. “It’s especially useful for journalists and news junkies.”

Vivek Sharma, GM of Yahoo’s Mail and Messenger products, has reportedly left the company. “Some sources said he clashed with CEO Marissa Mayer, who has been involved in the recent overhaul of one of Yahoo’s key consumer products, due in part to recent issues related to email vulnerability,” AllThingsD reports. “But others said he simply wanted to move on.” Either way, it’s not yet clear what’s next for Sharma.

Twitter quietly acquired We Are Hunted, last year -- and is presently using the music discovery service’s technology to build a standalone music app -- CNet reports, citing sources. “The app, to be called Twitter Music, could be released on iOS by the end of this month,” it writes.  “Twitter Music suggests artists and songs to listen to based on a variety of signals, and is personalized based on which accounts a user follows on Twitter.”

Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, is stepping down from his position as head of the Android team, AllThingsD reports. Picking up where Rubin left off, Sundar Pichai, currently head of Chrome and Apps, will now oversee Android, too. What’s next for Rubin? “More moonshots,” Google CEO Larry Page implored in blog post. In an email, Rubin explained: “I am an entrepreneur at heart and now is the right time for me to start a new chapter within Google.”

One in four American teenagers now accesses the Web primarily through their mobile devices, reports GigaOm, citing new findings from the Pew Research Center. Remarkably, only about half of the teens surveyed own a smartphone, which suggests that mobile Web usage stands to surge as the price of the gadgets continues to decrease. 

How many consumers have subscribed to Amazon Prime -- the service that offers a Netflix-like video service, free two-day shipping, and other benefits for $79 a year? More than 10 million, estimates Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy. As Business Insider reports, Hottovy also reckons that Prime currently makes up about a third of Amazon's operating income.

Last year, Samsung easily outspent Apple -- $401 million to $333 million -- advertising its smartphones in the United States, according to Kantar Media. As The Wall Street Journal notes, that represented a significant shift from 2011 when Apple spent three-times more than Samsung promoting its mobile devices. “The [2012] onslaught … has helped Samsung open a huge lead in the global smartphone race.”