Sarah Rotman Epps hit the nail on the head when she wrote "there is no Internet of things." She points to a 2001 report where Forrester analysts heralded the coming of "X Internet." More then 10 years later, the world continues to wait for change. Change has come, although very slowly. One of the biggest issues has become the lack of integration. Read the article here.

Courtney Eckerle gives us a look inside social media success at Neiman Marcus. The high-end retailer created an exclusive product launch on Pinterest and used an editorial content strategy to gain 3,000 followers in two weeks. The campaign required the team to create a storyline around partnerships, focus on product exclusivity, and market with images and text. The campaign earned NM 3,000 new followers in two weeks, five of the top 10 most-liked pins on the handbag board, and more. Read the article here.

Conversion rate optimization tactics should differ based on product and market segment. Sam Owen believes that paid-search professionals should know the calculation and process needed to reach a positive CRO. He takes us through the equation, provides insight into data, and points us to blogs from experts who have been successful using the approach. Read the article here.

Consumers can clearly see a bias in Google's auto-complete search feature through an ad campaign from creator Christopher Hunt at Ogilvy & Mather Dubai. The samples appearing in AdWeek are dated to highlight actual Web searches on Google. Typing "men need to," rather than "women need to," in the search query box returns less offensive results.

Bing wants to call attention to its search rewards program, so it partnered with native in-game ad platform GLO Gaming to spruce up Bing Rewards. Searches earn consumers points and discounts for merchandise. GLO Gaming's Branded Challenge customizes opt-in programs aimed at increasing the interaction between consumers and brands on iOS, Android, and Social platforms. The Bing Rewards custom campaign awards users with in-game currency when they subscribe to Bing Rewards via Facebook Connect or with their Microsoft ID. Credits are redeemable for popular gift cards, Xbox LIVE subscriptions, Windows games and app purchases, Hulu Plus, Redbox movie rentals, as …

Marketers who understand Google Hummingbird hope the company follows through with its plans. Many say it will rid the Internet of spam content and provide consumers with more relevant information. Scan down to the middle of David Towers' post. He give his opinion on what Hummingbird means for the future of search engine optimization, from natural language queries to socialization of search. Read the article here.

Rand Fishkin explains the effect Hummingbird has on long-tail searches, search engine optimization, and how he sees the impact evolving. Google has made several changes in the past year to prepare for long-tail queries, which are more conversational and have more words. It will better support voice search -- especially on mobile devices, and conversational search. Some of the queries, according to Fishkin, might include: "How to find the best restaurant in terminal C at the Seattle airport." It provides opportunities for content that keywords don't necessarily impact. Fishkin explains. Read the article here.

After a long legal battle with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the site facilitating searches for BitTorrent file sharing has agreed to shut down its international operations and pay the entertainment industry $110 million. IsoHunt did not host copyrighted files, but did act as a search engine that pointed users to pirated video games, music, movies, and computer software.

AOL Tim Armstrong must be elated. The September comScore Web video ranking puts AOL as the top property with the most video ads viewed with 3.7 billion views, compared with Google sites like YouTube at 3.2 billion. Google still topped off YouTube at No. 1, ranking the top online video content property for the month with 165.4 million unique viewers.

Not much in the coffer for a paid-search campaign? Manish Bhalla tells us how to mange a low-budget AdWords campaign after spending more than $40,000 on Google products. Bhalla outlines a strategy, from listing campaign objectives to use of product listing ads to focusing on ad positions when matching a bid isn't possible. There are 18 tips in total. Read the article here.