Recently, I wrote about Yahoo!’s widely-publicized potential tie-up with Microsoft. But its business as usual at Yahoo, despite all the juicy speculative talk over partnerships and recent layoffs.

The Gartner Blog’s Allen Weiner reported that, as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to showcase its search differentiation, Yahoo! has unveiled an “open search platform,” which gives publishers the ability to customize their results as they appear in search engine results pages (SERPs).

For example, a publisher such as Conde Nast (used in Yahoo!’s analyst presentation) can add photos, links, maps and so on to a search result, Weiner wrote. A consumer searching on cheesecake would see the result from Conde Nast stand out from the pack, with a photo and links to recipes and videos.

According to Yahoo!, these customized results will in no way affect algorithmic results (in terms of page rankings). Which, in other words, means that a customized result will not inherently elevate rankings, yet you they figure that a more visually appealing result on a page will get more clicks. Indirectly, Weiner says, the message is: Customize or wind up below the fold.

Yet the open search platform leaves some questions unresolved.  It’s not abundantly clear the degree of difficulty in creating these customized search results Weiner writes. If the ability to create a standout customized result is as simple as using Microsoft’s Popfly mashup tool, then it puts all publishers on a level playing field. On the other hand, if this task requires more-advanced development skills to create something elegant, the open platform grossly favors those with more technology resources.

In addition, search results pages containing such customized results could result in a confusing experience for the consumer. SERPs with a mix of customized and noncustomized results look somewhat lopsided. True, there is some modest innovation here, but, really, it makes one wonder whether Yahoo!’s announcement is more to show the world it’s alive and kicking, rather than showcase a bold step forward in search. In the meantime, the ‘cheesecake’ looks enticing!

The annual Ocean Tomo Live IP Auction usually brings together hundreds of key decision-makers in the intellectual property and investment communities. During the Auction that will be held on April 2 at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, there will be an interesting patent for sale.

Clarke-Boler Technologies revealed that they will be offering Lot #51a (comprised of patent #6,912,407) relating to a handheld device for storing, searching, and selecting telephone listing information.

Imagine a pocket-sized device with which you users look up phone numbers at the touch of a button. Clarke-Boler says it will be also cost-efficient, considering that you can save money on 411 calls and have instant access to any listed number in the country anytime, since the phone numbers are built in.

Like the Yellow Pages, this electronic phone directory has the capability of generating advertising revenue through graphical ads and premium positioning. The patent allows the device to be updated often via wireless or PC sync. It can even be voice activated (What city please?).

True, the holder of this patent will be in a very powerful position, and many will indeed benefit from acquiring Lot #51a: Telephone and multiple service providers, directory information management technology developers, and handheld device manufacturers, to name a few.

But, the really important issue here is the platform because like buying shoes or digital music players, there is a proliferation of choices and devices, not every consumer is going to buy the same one.

Fears of the looming US recession have put the world’s media economy at risk, buffered only by the current elections and the upcoming Olympics. But according to a recent forecast on global ad released by Screen Digest in London, it is the Internet that will truly keep the global ad economy from sinking.

In fact, thanks to the increasing penetration of broadband in the market, and as users spend more of their time online, the power of online advertising will continue to soar to exponential heights in the coming years.

In an article published by Media Life magazine, senior Screen Digest analyst Vincent Letang said:  If it were not for the organic growth of online advertising, we would be contemplating a recession of advertising spending.

Letang expects it to grow below average GDP growth from 2008 to 2012, hitting an annual growth rate of 3.6 percent in Europe and 3.7 percent in the U.S. In the first two years of the forecast, 2008 and 2009, growth will be slower than the remaining years  2009 will be particularly slow. Most of this growth, he said will be from online advertising, which he expects to grow about 17 percent a year until 2012.

The Screen Digest forecast for internet’s share of the global advertising economy is actually in line with the recent forecast of The Kelsey Group, which released numbers predicting that global advertising will grow from $605 billion in 2007 to $707 billion in 2012, for an average annual growth of 2.7 percent.

But Kelsey predicts internet advertising in its various forms will grow 23.4 percent a year on average, reaching $147 billion in 2012, giving it a 21 percent share of the global ad market by 2012. That’s up from 7.4 percent at the end of 2007.

Along with all the buzz over mobile, there is also a lot of talk on search engine consolidation, as Search Engine Land revealed.

According to the Yellow Pages Association (YPA)’s President Neg Norton, this was spurred by recent whispers involving the Yahoo! and News Corp. deal, a potential integration with MySpace, and whether the talk is a real option or an attempt to force Microsoft to increase its offer for Yahoo.

Yahoo!, of course, is at the center of the consolidation discussion, as it tried to shop around for a solid partner. While there are obvious challenges to a Microsoft-Yahoo deal, including cultural, technological, and timing issues, Microsoft has the cash and the most vested interest in seeking a partner to increase their search scale and make inroads in the fight to give Google a real challenger, Neg Norton wrote. No matter who wins the Yahoo prize, however, success in local search will continue to be driven by three key elements: content, traffic, and technology.

But there are also certain contentious issues that come into play. For one, consolidation could create gaps in the market as the companies involved are likely to take their eyes off local search while dealing with integration issues. This would create an IYP market opportunity to continue to capitalize on their strength.

While the latest research shows that IYPs are gaining in their share of local commercial searches, traffic remains a challenge in comparison to search engines. With consolidation, IYPs will also be affected by distribution deals, in which IYP advertisers’ listings and content are placed on AOL, Google, MSN, and/or Microsoft and other search engines.

Today’s small, local businesses, which provide the greatest untapped opportunity for all local search players, are still challenged with their online media buys, Norton wrote. Yellow Pages publishers have taken on the role of trusted media consultant to help small businesses navigate the fragmented online media landscape by delivering a large volume of high quality local business leads through a variety of media print and Internet Yellow Pages and search engine marketing through the convenience of one organization.

It is difficult to say at this point who will prevail in the local search market, as there are so many players vying for the top spot. But the bottom line, as Norton noted, is that the days of Yahoo! as an independent are numbered.

It is hard to say who will be the ultimate winners in the overall local search market, but the bottom line is that Yahoo’s days as an independent are likely numbered. IYPs have an opportunity to capitalize on market consolidation by leveraging their strong local content and business databases, long-standing relationships with small businesses, and technology resources to deliver the most relevant local search results, he said.

Mobile telecommunication networks are growing at an alarming rate, thanks to mobile phone models that allow consumers to do practically everything their computer can do. Internet companies are thus moving aggressively to bring search, e-mail, mapping and other familiar online services to these multi-functional handsets.

Search is definitely joining the mobile bandwagon. During the recently concluded Mobile World Congress fair in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia announced that it will be adding Google to the list of search engines consumers can access from their mobile phone handsets.

According to Ilkka Raiskinen, Nokia’s vice-president of software and services: “Providing choices for our consumers is an important driver in Nokia’s Internet service strategy. Google search would at first be added to selected phones and markets and later to some mass-market models in more than 100 countries, both company said in a press release. Nokia though already has similar deals in place with Microsoft and Yahoo, as well as with Yandex in Russia and Baidu in China.

Incidentally, Nokia and Google have already collaborated in a limited way, with Google search available on Nokia’s Internet tablets. Some of Nokia’s top models also support the popular Google-owned video-sharing site YouTube.

But some analysts, however, paint a less positive picturethat Nokia is quickly findings solutions to fight off the arrival of Android-based technology that Google may offer.

“This also might be a bit of a defensive move in light of Android-based devices supposedly coming in the second half of 2008,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. “Although Nokia might not adopt the Android platform it is making sure they are working with Google and offering consumers what they want.”

Google is scheduled to roll out its Android software (a direct rival to Nokia’s S60 platform) for mobile phones later this year.