Overview

This report evaluates the influence of Social Networking, Social Search tools and User Generated Content on the Local Search Industry. We believe that these innovations are now blurring the edges of Local Search and its advertising revenue models, while the core of Local Search may be refocusing, as a result.

We discuss potential adoption rates, advertising growth, ad revenues and competitive issues in Local Search related to the adoption of Social Networking constructs and tools.

We explore five main factors that will have a significant impact on the evolution of local search over the 18 to 24 months and provide a concise description of the most significant trends, use case examples and major players in each of these areas.

The report begins with very specific and targeted summary and recommendations for each industry constituent including:

• Local Search and Internet Yellow Page Providers
• Mobile-Local Search Providers
• Social Networking Website Providers
• Business Listings Providers
• Map Database Providers.
  

• Defining local search in terms of value chain and the industry adaptive response to social media
• The rise of online social networking, the development of social search tools and techniques that may benefit local search, and the rise of spatial tagging and segmentation in social networking
• Hyper-local (mixture of local-social search) and analysis of its ability to develop into a successful business model
• Evaluation of local search sites that have adopted social search tools and suggest future developments that may enhance the success of the local search industry
• The rise of personalization in web tools, interfaces and deployable applications, and what impact these might have on local search and local advertising
• The report concludes with a section evaluating the future local/social search and discusses potential approaches to the local search market that anticipates an evolution to deployable mini-social networks and community-based referrals services
  
  

• Local search is mutating to local-social search through the adoption of social networking structures and the application of social search tools
• User Generated content and the use of social tags may completely rewrite the functionality of local search platforms
• Hyper local search sites have failed to build sustainable audiences in local search. Community based local search sites may not be the future of the industry
• Google’s universal search and its AdWords capabilities may give Google a sustainable and unbeatable position in the search market
• Local search companies that have not embraced the concepts of social search are ignoring a fundamental change in the local search business
• Mobile-local search will mutate into mobile-local-social search in what may be the long awaited breakout move in the location based services industry
  

Mike Dobson is president of TeleMapics LLC, a business that provides consulting services to companies focused on Local Search, Location Based Services, the use of Geospatial Information, and product development.

Mike’s goal for TeleMapics is to assist companies in the technology space to find their way to market growth and improved profitability through the development of innovative products and services. In addition, TeleMapics provides services to the law firms related to intellectual property issues in technology and the uses of Geospatial Information. Finally, it provides due diligence and M & A advice for venture capital firms considering new opportunities.

Dr. Dobson’s background includes experience as the CTO and EVP of Engineering for a high profile start-up in wireless LBS/local search. In addition, he served as the Chief Technologist, VP of New Business Development and Chief Cartographer for the world's largest map and Geospatial Information publishing company during their transition to digital information publishing and GIS. He spent the initial years of his career as a college professor researching the display of map data for rapid information processing, Human Factor in display design and issues related to practical applications of Geographic Information Systems using extremely large spatial databases.

Mike holds doctoral and masters degrees in geography from the University of Kansas.

Mike may be reached at Mike@MindCommerce.com