Following my blog post lamenting the fact that there wasn’t a lot of panels on local search at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, I got pinged by Vinicius Vacanti (Yipit‘s founder) who offered us spots on his proposed local-search themed panel. Earlier today, Chris Tolles, CEO of Topix, who had submitted a conference proposal also offered to turn his bid into a panel as well.

I’ve also lined-up two of my industry peers, Perry Evans (CEO of Local Matters, co-founder of Jabber Inc. and founding President of Mapquest) and Greg Sterling (one of the top local search expert in the world IMHO), who, schedule permitting, will be present with me on at least one of those panels.

This should be fun! Does it mean it’s a done deal? No, because SXSWi is community-driven event. Submitting a panel is just the beginning as people vote on their favorite ones. You, the Praized blog readers, can make a difference and send a message to SXSWi that Local Search matters! Register and vote for the two proposed panels (voting closes on August 29):

1) Think Globally, Post Locally: The Emerging Power of Local Voice

2) The Local Search Solution: Context or Accuracy?

Other ways you can help:

• Blog about these panels. Invite your readers to vote for them.
• Tweet the news on Twitter or spread the word on Facebook! Hit your social graph!