With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

With people looking to save money, coupons are more important than ever. But wouldn't it be great if you could get the benefits of a coupon without clipping them and taking them with you shopping? If you have a cell phone, you can get this with Cellfire.

I love coupons; who doesn't? They are, arguably, one of the most important marketing tools used by companies such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and General Mills (NYSE: GIS). I also love coupon distribution on the web, so I'm hoping a new technology reported on by BusinessWeek really takes off.

A company called Coupons, Inc. has developed a system dubbed Brandcaster. It essentially follows Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) model of monetization. Depending on where you are on the web and what you are looking at, the Brandcaster will determine if a coupon may be applicable to you. It will then try to get you to access the coupon and print it up. Web sites who use the application will be given a cut of revenues generated from successful coupon printings. So, speaking hypothetically, if I'm on a site that's dedicated to video games, maybe this Brandcaster thing will someday tell me that I can print up a coupon allowing me to get $5 off a new software title.

If this is promoted properly, and if the value to consumer companies can be adequately communicated, then I think Coupons, Inc. has a hit on its hands. Like I say, people love coupons, and I think they are more likely to act on printing out a coupon then they are to, say, buy a product immediately online through a banner ad. I see this kind of advertising as being more effective over the long-term than other kinds of ads.

I'm always on the lookout for cool ways to save money -- and buying coupons on the internet might seem pretty strange. But it's also pretty cool. TheCouponClippers.com is a family-run website that sells coupons: you can get hundreds of coupons for hundreds of products. They often have more than 1,000 copies of each coupon available, and the expiration date/terms of the offer are clearly listed.

The minimum order is only $3, but with shipping and a 50 cent processing fee, the site is probably only worthwhile for ordering lots of coupons. But if you find yourself buying the same products regularly (and who doesn't?) you can probably save yourself a ton of money here. The prices per coupon are pretty reasonable -- 50 cents off Dawn Direct Foam costs 5 cents -- if you live in an area where coupons are doubled, that will give you a return on investment of 2000%. Warren Buffett, eat your heart out!

For my coupon-saving opportunities, check out MyCoupons.com, which has a pretty cool list of special promotional codes for various retailers: Shoes.com, Kohls and Victoria's Secret, to name a few. They also have a pretty cool coupon blog.

You don't mess with a shopper's coupons -- Macy's (NYSE: M) has learned that lesson the hard way.

According to The New York Times, "For years, the department stores that Macy's acquired ... had relied on 15- and 20-percent-off coupons to alert people, like a Pavlovian bell, that it was time to shop. As part of its reinvention, Macy's tried to wean shoppers off them. But the tactic backfired. With fewer coupons to clip, thousands of people from Washington to Los Angeles turned their backs on Macy's."

Now Macy's is jumping back on the coupon bandwagon, and is pledging that there will be plenty for clippers to cut this holiday season.

It's puzzling why Macy's decided to move away from coupons in the first place. It seems like an ingenious way to dole out savings to consumers: non price-savvy shoppers won't clip the coupons and therefore won't get the savings. This way, the store avoids giving discounts to a lot of people who would have purchased the clothing without them in the first place.

Historically, corporate America has always had trouble weaning shoppers off coupons. Macy's is just the latest in a long history of companies that have failed at it. Few smart shoppers are probably surprised that the efforts have failed, and now Macy's will allow our love of coupons to continue.

Coupons: The bane of impatient shoppers and cash register clerks, but always a favored method of driving consumer traffic. How can they remain relevant in the age of the internet?

AOL, a division of Time Warner Inc., (NYSE: TWX), is glad you asked. Its new AOL Shortcuts program will offer merchants a way to use electronic coupons efficiently. The program allows internet users to register their store loyalty card number, then select electronic coupons from emails or web pages with a single click. No need to print off coupons; AOL Shortcuts stores these coupons for the shopper. When he or she then purchases the product, the coupon savings is automatically applied.

For example -- On Tuesdays, Kroger sends me an email of weekly savings, much like the circular in my newspaper. I open the email, click on the "$1 off Perdue chicken breasts" coupon. Later that day, I stop by the store, buy the chicken, and a buck is taken off my purchase, automatically. No need for me or the clerk to screw around with little pieces of paper.

At Starbucks Gossip bloggers and commentators are talking about Friday's $114 million suit against Starbucks (SBUX) for the coupon debacle, which my colleague Sarah Gilbert reported on right here. A class-action suit was probably inevitable given our litigious age and the company's profile. Starbucks has given the fact that the coupons were alterted and distributed beyond their intended scope, and the reason for cancelling the promotion.

Comments at Starbucks Gossip are running about 2/3rds against the suit (by my very rough estimate) last time I checked. Some posters sound bemused over the whole mess, while others are outraged. P. Scranton said, "No wonder attorneys are held in such low esteem." Some people did write in to express feeling "betrayed" by Starbucks -- angry that a large company should get away with pulling back this freebie without some sort of penalty. Starbucks (some consumers seem to feel, anyway) picked up the ball and went home after too many people decided to play. JavaGrrl, who identifies herself as a longtime employee, says that the company was "embarrassed" (all caps) by the entire episode. For me, that embarrassment is punishment enough. I don't want to see a suit go forward, the stock fall, and the costs passed on to the consumer.

The comment that had the funniest, and to me, the most sensible take on the entire matter was this from DeusX: "I think I will be suing my ex-gf of ten years ago, I have a 'good for one free backrub' coupon signed by her with no expiration date."

Remember those emails sent around 1999? "Please forward this email and Bill Gates will give you $1,000," it said. Something about an experiment Microsoft was conducting.

Starbucks unwittingly conducted an experiment in the forwarding behavior of its employees in the Southeast U.S., offering a coupon for one free iced coffee (between noon and 9 p.m.) via email. The email said to "try your coffee iced" and encouraged employees to forward the printable coupon to families and friends.

Some of the family and friends, evidently, have eBay seller accounts and printed out multiple coupons to sell. As the Oregonian noted, you could buy a pack of nine Starbucks free iced beverage coupons -- redeemable for anything from a regular iced coffee to a Frappuccino. While the AP is saying that Starbucks has rescinded the offer, according to the Oregonian, many stores were still honoring the coupons -- good through September 30, according to the fine print.

Starbucks can hardly afford to lose sales this month given its poor results last month, but what's worse: the small impact of those still forwarding the emails (and the few dozen being sold on eBay), or the negative PR of pulling a freely-given coupon?

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are fighting hard to conquer the market for local search.

Actually, local search is not new. However, it is not particularly easy.

A big problem is that, according to Google's estimates, half of all small businesses don't even have a web site. In other words -- for a company that indexes the web -- this can be a big problem.

So, why not get a little creative and use the magic of user-generated content? That is, get local businesses to enter their own listings.

Well, Google is going to do this by leveraging its Google Maps. Of course, entering a listing is absolutely free (you can try it out at www.google.com/services).

Why do this?