The world of the search results page is changing quickly, which means that we're going to have to apply new rules for user behavior. This week, I'd like to look at some results from a recent eye tracking study about how we interact with search when graphic elements start to appear on the page.

In my last column I covered the ground-breaking MyLifeBits project currently underway at Microsoft. Led by Gordon Bell, a team of researchers is attempting to build a memex (memory extender) by digitizing and archiving everything from personal emails and documents to phone calls and TV shows. Today I'll spend some time on the challenges Bell and team face in creating a memex and the issues we'll encounter if/when such a tool is ready to roll out.

Quick: what's the fourth-largest search engine? The good news is, the answer is suddenly less clear than it's ever been, thanks to comScore announcing that it's "expanding the market view of the search universe to encompass other searches that occur on the Internet." It's about time -- and time, too, for a prediction I made last year about MySpace to come true.

As Google's expanded broad match broadens its horizons, advertisers continue to suffer. The rationale behind the change is that Google is doing the legwork for you, so you can get more clicks and impressions off a small selection of keywords. The example provided by the Google Adwords Team was "Honolulu hotels," showing how, when broad-matched, you could reap the benefits of traffic from "Hawaii Hotels" and "Honolulu inns," etc. What they failed to mention is that you may very well show up on "Austin Hotels" or even "NYC Hotels." Unbelievable? Well it should be, but tell that to www.nyc.hotel, whose …

At 10 this morning, my wife called and asked me to come home to look after our kids while she went to stay with her grandmother in the last few hours of her life. So I'm writing this from home, knowing that just a few miles away, there's a hospital room filled with far more visitors than it could possibly hold, all holding hands and praying for a woman who has lived an exceptional life in so many ways.

In my last column, I defined the birth of Google Street View Optimization (SVO) -- an entirely new and previously undiscovered marketing concept designed to make the most of one's own personal appearances in Google Street View photos. But less than one week after the debut of this great search marketing innovation, Google has informally announced that they will be blurring out people's faces and other identifying info captured by the GoogleBalt from Street View, which effectively renders all of my outlined SVO optimization concepts meaningless. In less than a week after its birth, SVO is now dead.

Lest we forget, Google's most visible, enduring face is still that of the search engine. During the past two weeks, we took a look at Google's role as a Banker of information peddling Gmail and photo storage, and then as a Babysitter shepherding and editing news comments. Yet in this final edition, we'll see a more familiar face of Google. We'll meet the Broker of the dynamic AdWords market -- where the rules change constantly, just as they notably did last week when Google rewrote some of its rules for advertisers.

According to reports from last week's Wall Street Journal, Facebook plans to deliver advertising that's targeted to users' personal profiles. Targeting parameters will include "not only... age, gender and location," the Journal reports, "but also... details such as favorite activities and preferred music" -- as well as information about users' friends. Have no doubt; the privacy-minded will rebel.

Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at the RBC Capital Markets North American Technology Conference with several online marketing experts. Our group acknowledged that paid search is becoming increasingly complex, requiring search engine marketers to use more sophisticated methods to manage their campaigns.

I've written before about how I like many of things that Ask is doing. This week, unprompted by me, at least 5 different people have told me over the last two days how much they like Ask's new interface. Tonight at dinner, that's how one of these conversation kicked off. But soon (and this also was a recurring theme) it veered in the direction of "I really like Ask, but what's up with their TV ads?"