Free People uses paid search to understand the type of consumers coming to its Web site, along with non-branded campaigns that generate new customer sales. It's not so unusual to monitor traffic from paid search, but it prompted the marketing department to open up the analytics package and review all the traffic coming to the site through all media channels.

Slow Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) adoption rates have application developers scratching their heads wondering how Google plans to get more people on to the next OS platform Android Jelly Bean to use all the cool features. ICS is not seeing widespread adoption. Only about 7% of people use it today.

Some of the best technologies come from startups. Brands can't always depend on agencies to find the best technology for the job. At the MediaPost Brand Marketing Summit in Wisconsin on Wednesday, panelists talked about how to find partners to explore options and the importance of agencies working together for the client's best interest.

You've got a great idea for a startup, and know a lot about paid-search marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) to drive potential customers from the search engine or social sites to the company's new Web site. Languishing in the weeds can sometimes obstruct the view from above. Here are some nuances even the expert might have overlooked when it comes to supporting a startup or a new division in an older company.

By the end of this week, advertisers will think smartphones are passe after the Google Nexus 7 tablet with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean debut at the I/O conference. No confirmation from Google, but Gizmodo Australia allegedly got its hands on the details of the device from what it calls a "training document."

Google IO begins next week. If you're an online marketer, I don't need to tell you the Mountain View, Calif. company owns the majority of the search market share, but perhaps you might want to know the latest search engine marketing growth predictions for desktop and mobile. And you might want to know some of the news to expect next week from the tech giant.

Search marketers have rushed into social marketing, applying search metrics to measure success, but execs at Omnicom Media's Resolution Media and Kenshoo believe that doesn't work. Social behaves differently than search marketing -- and the industry simply needs a new set of metrics, best practices, and guidelines.

Five small business owners will receive house calls from American Express OPEN and Facebook branding experts who conduct in-depth marketing makeovers. Winners also receive $25,000 in cash to implement the social strategies they learn. Support will be provided by digital agencies such as Digitas.

Microsoft unveiled the tablet Surface in Los Angeles last night, but it wasn't the first time the technology made an appearance. The original Surface, a 30-inch computer tablet-like display, debuted at the Sheraton in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle in 2008. The intuitive user interface highlighted the ability to move and interact with content without a mouse or a keyboard on a tablet-like screen.

The number of mobile Internet users will surpass desktop users by 2014, according to a forecast by comScore, which also estimates that a 47% rise in smartphone users -- equaling 106.7 million or 45.6% of the U.S. mobile population -- occurred in the year prior to March 2012. The data, part of the research firm's State of the U.S. Internet report, also details trends in social, online advertising and e-commerce.