No doubt about it: Marketing is the last business unit to automate processes. Technology moved in to streamline and integrate campaigns, but some marketers still stand stiff as statues, caught like deer in the bright headlights of an oncoming car.

Search engines and technology companies building ad targeting platforms will pay attention to social connections and words used on the Web far more than paid search ads or recommendations.

Google is a technology company. This doesn't mean it will abandon search. But after 20 years in technology and marketing, I know the signs and can say unequivocally that the company has crossed over. It reminds me a little of Microsoft's climb to the top, complete with regulatory issues and privacy concerns. Perhaps the Google I/O conference set to get underway Wednesday, where attentions turn toward applications, contributes to this energy and buzz.

Google could announce this week that it will move SSL encryption implemented in Gmail to other services such as search. During the company's annual shareholders meeting a question on this from John Simpson, an investor who works for Consumer Watchdog, prompted a curt "Do you get the drift of the answer?" from Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt after Google vice president of search Marissa Mayer replied "stay tuned."

Scan a traditional UPC barcode with software on one of Nokia's latest phones and it will search Krillion's product database, returning information on availability and price based on location. Sherry Thomas-Zon, chief executive officer at Krillion, tells me the company plans to make an official announcement next week that it's technology feeds product search data behind the scenes to support Nokia's barcode scanner technology.

Trada engineers have begun developing business process and reporting options that make it easier for ad agencies to outsource paid search campaigns to the marketplace. The biggest change comes in automating the manual reporting process to give agencies proof of progress.

Rumors suggest Google will release the Android tablet at its I/O conference next week in San Francisco. Of course this is pure speculation, but there are a few facts.

Wall Street analysts aren't convinced data from comScore's U.S. April 2010 report tell the whole picture of gains in search market share for Yahoo -- up from 16.9% in the prior month, to 17.7% Digging a little deeper, some attribute the uptick to new features that could be falsely raising the numbers.

Traditional pay-per-click platforms have allowed advertisers to drive leads through Internet ads for years, but with the uptick in mobile search, the percentage of advertisers tapping into the pay-per-call strategy continues to rise. Here are some tips on how to take advantage of this trend.

How many consumers know or care about real-time search? A study released this week from RTS engine Wowd indicates some ignorance: 52% had never heard of real-time search before taking the survey. Perhaps it's time the search industry steps up to the plate.