• by Aaron Goldman , Op-Ed Contributor, May 8, 2009

As Joe pointed out, a major thread of today's keynote conversation with Jordan Rohan, Gian Fulgoni and Gord Hotchkiss was around the potential for richer brand experiences in the SERPs -- namely display ads.

Jordan quipped that what made Google... well, Google, was that it presented a clean, uncluttered environment and doing anything beyond simple logos or thumbnails might disrupt that.

An audience member chimed in observing that with universal search and further brand integration, the search engines risk becoming mere portals. (And, in turn, I suppose mere mortals.)

I say bring it on! What made Google Google was not it's 10 blue links -- it was its relentless focus on relevancy.