In May, Google introduced the Engagement Project, which analyzes "how" youth today view advertisements and marketing material. The Gen C generation -- which has less to do with their birth year and more to do with their attitude -- defines the thought process of young consumers thriving on creation, curation, connection and community.

Edward Snowden didn't just reveal a top secret U.S. surveillance operation, but rather opened the eyes of millions of Americans to misconceptions about online privacy. He's the former National Security Agency computer technician who acknowledged leaking classified documents about the United States government's monitoring of Internet and telephone communications.

There's a disconnect between marketing executives' perception of how consumers like to engage with brands and consumers' preferred methods of engagement, according to a study released Wednesday. While the findings point to misconceptions related to email, social media, personalization and privacy, the results clearly reveal trends that search marketers can apply to support paid search, search engine optimization and product listing ads.

A new Apple-Bing relationship could mean the start of something sweet for brand marketers. A deal announced Monday with Apple allows Bing to support Siri on iPhone, iPad and iPad touch.

The next version of the marketing department will require a multichannel strategist to lead the company in creating content, and a team supporting analytics and attribution. The brand will need to build best practices and a technology infrastructure supporting metrics and business processes. A white paper from Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Winterberry Group provides the outline defining how marketers and publishers can capitalize on multichannel marketing. It also provides a guideline for search marketers.

Duplicate leads have a higher value than previously believed, according to a new study released this week identifying the characteristics that make them more valuable. The study from Leads360 identifies that those flagged as duplicates convert 167% higher than the average rate. This conversion occurs regardless of how they are handled after they have been flagged.

It could become every brand advertiser's dream: Keep searchers on query pages longer than a few seconds. Rather than the query providing the funnel to the landing page, it becomes the destination. What would paid-search marketers pay to stay with searchers 60 seconds longer?

Disruptive technologies tend to modify business models. The mobile phone created a hotbed for advertisers looking to personally connect with consumers. That's a good thing. Still, there are challenges. Sometimes what's profitable for one industry creates headaches for another. Search marketers need to lean in and meet the challenge.

Marketers keep hearing how data will become "gold" for brands, but how can sharing content and commenting on social sites apply to search marketers? Social signals will influence search rankings through push technology like Google Now and voice search technology from Apple, Google and Microsoft, but here are a few tips that marketers can apply today.

A friend bought a Groupon from Sunrise Balloons and we booked the reservation to take the flight last weekend during the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival. I went to unplug, take a ride in a hot air balloon and get away from technology for a day. It didn't turn out that way.