Social media is all the rage. But does is help to make meaningful business connections? Help find a new job? Or help find answers to pressing needs or questions?

The search giant is joining with retailers such as Best Buy and Macy's to create Web-based circulars, similar to what appears in your Sunday paper. The service will display custom ads based on your location and search topics. Best Buy hopes the new ads will get Web surfers into their stores. Researchers says the new ads will likely give Google an even greater share of the online ad market.

However, when questioned about bringing tech jobs to the area -- Eric Schmidt says Google doesn't have any future plans in Minnesota. The company says its web-based tools have provided more than $1 billion in economic value to the state.

The money is part of President Barack Obama's Small Business Jobs Act, aimed at fostering lending that can spur growth and job creation.

Minnesota has been awarded $15.5 million in federal funding to offer small businesses loans in hopes of boosting the local economy. The money is part of President Obama's Small Business Jobs Act, which was signed into law last year.

"We hope these students create the next Google," said one of the company's executives. The Google crew worked with 75 Minneapolis students who will be summer interns for Twin Cities businesses through the Step Up program. It was Google's first youth entrepreneurship summit.

When Minnesota entrepreneurs are in need of cash, many of them end up in the offices of local non-profits. Some of state's most generous non-profits when it comes to business lending are getting $4.5 million from the federal government to help out Minnesota businesses.