It was an antsy weekend for the iPhone crowd. Friday's leak that Google was updating its application with voice-enabled search left many waiting for Apple to unleash the most radical evolution in search since, well, search arrived. As of Monday morning, no app had been released, but the chatter over the prospect of rendering the keyboard obsolete ensued.

Despite what some believe, television content is anything but dead. Earlier this year, Nielsen reported that even in today's digitized world, the average American consumer watches more linear television per week than ever. What is up for debate, however, is the future of linear television advertising.

"So how is your company shifting, or even taking advantage of the current economy?" Amy Deveau asked the table of the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) MarkeTTech attendees.

Traditionally, online political campaigns have lagged behind online marketers. From the Web site platform to e-mail campaigns to search, we have spent the recent cycles bemoaning our candidates' approach to online media.

This week, Verizon delivered some good news: Not only did the firm add 1.5 million new wireless subscribers in the third quarter, net income was up 31%. While landline and DSL customers decreased, the launch of FIOS, the company's fast Web, phone and television bundle, is meeting its targets. In short, if there is one thing that consumers won't sacrifice during a downturn, it is fast home and mobile digital communication. Fall fashion, the home renovation or even the new flat screen can wait. Without Internet access, we are nothing.

The 10-year budget battle between display and search marketing appears to have come to a close, giving way to an integrated approach to online advertising. Multiple studies pointing to an increase in lift and ROI can be credited for broker­ing the truce.

For all of the Web's advancements, the content it houses is still a snapshot in time. For the most part, these written words, images and video are no different than messages carved in stone. Once posted, they serve as a historical record of the past, and frequently searchers need to piece together multiple Web artifacts to understand the correlation between people, places and time.

Do ad agencies "get" search? While the question has become something of an industry cliché, the answers vary based on who is being questioned and the time period during which the debate is held. Given continued consolidation and the evolving definition of search, the 2003 response is no longer valid in 2008. And this is precisely why I agreed to moderate a session at SMX East on the topic - with a twist.

Over the past five years, the client summit has become a popular, annual event among search engine marketing agencies. I have had the privilege to participate at a number of these events; most recently, Range Online Media's Client Summit and Fall Fest, which was held last week in Dallas. While I initially intended to report on a social media panel that I moderated, I felt compelled to relay that almost half of the afternoon was not spent on SEO, PPC, social media or even creative development — rather, it was spent on attribution models that effectively move measurement away from the last click before conversion.

For some people, autumn conjures up thoughts of pumpkins, fall foliage and tweed suits. For marketers, it signals a 2-3 month stretch of excel spreadsheets, vendor reviews and endless negotiation. Yes, we are in the thick of planning season, and this year an uncertain economy will leave its mark on all line-items, search included.