The most recent founders' letter to investors written by Larry Page hints at the future of search after describing the more than 100 billion searches monthly -- of which 15% are new for the first time -- and telling us that the index gets updated within seconds to ensure that it shows the latest results.

The fashion industry keeps losing talent to technology companies. The departure of Burberry's former CEO for Apple landed Angela Ahrendts, 53, a $67 million bonus. While it gives us hints about what's to come from the Big A, it leaves the fashion industry with a gaping hole in knowledge and knowhow when it comes to the rise of social media and online digital services. In the fashion world, platforms supporting ecommerce, search, social, marketing, and media relations communicate with each other, but don't partner as much as they could. Bringing technology into the world of fashion would bridge the gap.

When it comes to fashion brands and retailers, 60% of Millennial women learn about the products from having direct contact with others wearing the brand or word-of-mouth, compared with 34% who read online articles to learn about new brands, and 20% learn about brands via social channels. It's a bit different for men in the same age bracket of 18-to-33-year olds. So how do you address this group that wields more than $600 billion in annual spending power?

The brands Google and Bing potentially forfeit millions of dollars annually by not making local and national services available through their Shopping sites. Ratings and recommendations, which are key to providing input for consumers, would assist to rank results. It would put Google and Bing in direct competition with sites like Angie's List, Yelp or even Groupon and Living Social.

Intel has acquired Israeli-based Ginger Software's personal assistant technology Ginger, which supports natural language processing and applications. Think Apple Siri or Microsoft Cortana. It's the rise of personal digital assistants that can carry out a function or command on mobile devices. Will the chipmaker build the technology into the chip, making personal assistants supported by the operating system obsolete?

Getting personal with consumers online requires brands to know their existing and potential customers. Unfortunately, not all brands do. Consumers continually adjust preferences as tastes change. If marketers want to hyper-target potential and existing customers, they also need to evolve. A couple of studies released this week suggest Big Data is out and a brand's data is in.

Log in. Mobile apps drive branding, loyalty, retention, cross-channel and device measurement and sales. The traffic on the app generates data, improves measurement for retargeting content and services, and qualifies consumers. The mobile Web promotes application downloads and generates leads.

Google+ user Florian Kiersch has been experimenting with code snippets that would enable Chrome users to bookmark beyond saving pages of Web sites to revisit later. It's a feature that Google's Matt Cutts wrote about as a test in 2010. It appears Google has found additional functions and features for the tool.

Google has extended its Google Shopping Express service from the San Francisco Bay area, which it began offering last year, to Manhattan and the Westside of Los Angeles. It makes it possible to order online and have the items delivered from favorite local stores within hours. Add a self-driving car into the equation, and Google creates an entirely new business model for local online companies.

Target has not landed on a specific strategy or provider when it comes to using iBeacons in its stores, but the big-box retailer continues to work on honing approach to technology and services that will give consumers the ultimate experience in stores. An opt-in will allow the retailer to identify and message consumers Along with mobile, it will move into mainstream for retailers.