The flawed saying "if you can't measure it, it must not exist" took new meaning when Google began to request credit for visits on sites where AdWords serves up ads across the content network. Now paid search and search engine optimization professionals have begun to pay more attention to the marketing funnel, too. Some urge clients when allocating ad budgets to consider pay-per-click (PPC) ads and query rankings much more than the last click.

Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz told CNBC's Dennis Kneale she would have done the deal with Microsoft for $36 per share if she was the CEO at the time -- but later, during an interview on "Power Lunch" with Jim Goldman, said her response, "Sure," had been an off-the-cuff answer. "I'm not shopping Yahoo today, so there is no price," she said.

Some privacy advocates have voiced concerns (rightfully so) about developing tools and technologies that pinpoint the whereabouts of people who use them. Most technology provides benefits as well as problems, depending on how it's used. For example, Google launched applications during the weekend to help people post or find information about loved ones and friends affected by Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile.