toward

In San Francisco last night, Six Apart (who recently launched data portability initiative Motion) hosted a roundtable to discuss the future of activity stream standards. In attendance were people from Google, Yahoo, MySpace, Facebook, Nokia, Plaxo, Comcast, and others.

It looks like mobile search is about to be taken seriously. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon Wireless has tapped Google, and the two are close to reaching a deal that would see Google's mobile search come pre-installed on Verizon handsets.

Companies generally don't comment on rumor or speculation—that's the blogosphere/news media's job. The speculation du jour, which seems very likely born of non-buyer's remorse, is that Microsoft is eyeing—or should eye—an acquisition of eBay or, at least, PayPal and/or Skype.

Whatever happens in Google's peripheral industry dabbling, the search giant lives up to its core reputation by grabbing 67.9 percent of US searches in April, a 4 percent increase year-over-year, according to Hitwise. The usual rivals are present in the top four with a noticeable decline for third-place breath-holder MSN. Microsoft's confusingly branded search engine dropped from 6.65 percent in March to 6.26 percent in April, down from 7.77 percent a year ago, and down significantly from search share once hovering around 12 percent.

Some time last year I realized my association with the search engine optimization and marketing industry might change because the atmosphere was getting partisan. Bad feelings between leaders were festering and it didn’t take much of a nudge to start a rumble. The situation isn’t improving and I wonder why. Case in point is a recent bit of flap over an article that went out by someone well respected, which in hindsight was an error in judgment. Apologies have been made but it won’t end there because something has drastically shifted in the industry.

A couple of days ago something strange began happening on Twitter. Avatars of the people I follow began sporting peas. Peas in the background, in the foreground, pea pods, pea hats. And I'm all, "what's with the freakin' peas?"

Not to be outdone by big Internet players and smaller local-focused search companies, AOL has quietly opened up beta testing for AOL Local, its local search product.

The newest discussion of a Google-branded wireless device suggests a Blackberry-like gadget with VoIP capability comes from ex-Macromedia chief architect turned venture capitalist Simeon Simeonov, as he fuels the Google Phone rumor blaze.