Google is going after local search in a big way, especially with mobile and enhanced place listings. Now it is pushing more local searches through its auto-suggest feature on Google.com. When you start typing in a keyword, the suggestions that you see are now geared to your location. Previously these were already specific to a country, but now they are by city.
via Google Suggest Becomes More Local.
What it means: Google continues its march towards a “local” Web. As I’ve stated before, they’ve won the “utility” war from a search perspective. The opportunity in “local/social” still remains open but for how long? Twitter’s announcement this week that they’re going to enable “places” as a geo-location proxy is important and I predict Facebook will announce something “local” at the F8 conference next week. Traditional local media companies are not innovating fast enough.
Seb Provencher's Blog 
Great post. Local is evolving fast. You are right about traditional IYP former telcos dropping the ball. Yelp is doing good and the Foursquare deal was a smart move.
Did you see the news on Paulson shorting a company the invested in? Setting em up to make money while they fall down. Yet some of my fellow Local Search nuts think I am nuts abouit http://www.yellowcrooks.com . Just wait….weekend at Bernie Madoff’s coming soon for one of the traditional guys who is prohibiting innovasion.
Local, mobile and social are quickly converging on search. I expect practices such as SEO will be greatly impacted by these inevitable changes and the ongoing innovation within the industry. Some are calling it SEO 3.0, while others say “LoMoSo.” While an “official” name has yet to be determined, companies may find it difficult to stay abreast of all these changes. I agree that traditional companies are not evolving fast enough.