In 2005, before the feds cracked down on it, the online gambling market in the United States alone was estimated at $6 billion, nearly half of global revenues. And there's little overlap between those who game online and those who travel to casinos to play, according to analyst firm River City Group.

It was a dark and stormy night in Rodanthe when Diane Lane and Richard Gere gazed longingly into each other's eyes and realized that being middle-aged doesn't mean you're not still hot. This romantic tearjerker is an iconic example of the meme of the empty nester: a couple with no responsibilities and enough money to do what they want in whatever romantic location they want to do it in. (See also: innumerable ads for pills to get all those gorgeous and eager silver-haired men into motion when they're in the mood.)

Take a look at the results of studies focusing on the factors that influence purchase decisions. Turns out, the most influential influencers of all are those nearest and dearest: family and friends. True, the influence of social media - blogs, forums, product ratings - is gaining ground, but it still carries less weight than our social circles.

I'm sick to death of turkey and roasts and all the trimmings. The kids have already broken half of their new toys. Cyber Monday is a distant memory. January returns are in full swing. The meter has been set back in the red in anticipation of another Black Friday in another 10 months. Code locks have been lifted so we can defy death and start SEO again, and I'll bet this is the weekend I finally take down my Christmas lights.

It appears women really do like curling up with a good book. And during the day, they seem to prefer real people over online buddies just a tad more than men do. So says a study that explored the online and offline habits of men and women, from the University of Southern California Annenberg Center for the Digital Future.

With a mobile device in every hand, consumers now take the power for local search with them wherever they go. And as voice search technology becomes more sophisticated, and more search engines and directory-assistance players join the market, ad-supported free directory assistance or voice search will move to the fore.

Who's watching what? That's been the question for advertisers since the dawn of, well, visual advertising. Nielsen tries to answer that question for television and now the brass ring is to figure it out for online video. That's where Quantcast comes in.

Here's a little something you can use to break that awkward elevator silence with a coworker: Someone who possesses high self-esteem is 48 percent more likely to purchase premium coffee. Here's another: If you consider yourself open and curious, you're 153 percent more likely to always buy organic. While OMMA doesn't profess to understand such connections, the psychographic specialists at Mindset Media certainly do.

In a recent Duke University study, rhesus monkeys were given a choice between enjoying their favorite drink (cherry-flavored Juicy Juice) or the opportunity to look at images of the dominant "celebrity" monkey of their pack.

At last, a truly encouraging sign that good journalism will flourish on the Web: Entries for the Pulitzer Prize will now be accepted from news organizations that publish solely online. The other criteria remain the same, which is good news for online journalism's standards: The entry must come from a publication primarily devoted to news and original reporting, a requirement at the heart of the prize since its establishment in 1917. The entry also must reflect the values of good journalism, such as honesty, accuracy and fairness. "[We're] …