Somehow, I feel like Google is already building this. One day, we will go to Google Maps, type in a friend’s name, and the map will display his or her coordinates. I mean, why not? Google already has the capability in their Latitude product, so it makes sense that they will eventually create a mash-up between Latitude and Maps.

Local Social Strategy

Let’s take this one step further… Latitude + Maps + Search + Social. Imagine Yelp, but limitless, on the scale of Google. You’re at your computer early Saturday morning, in dire need of coffee. You visit Google. Thanks to your IP address, Google knows you’re in NYC. Thanks to your Google Latitude account, Google knows your friends’ locations. You continue to search for “coffee” when you are presented with a map (below) that details coffee locations in NYC that you or your network has either checked in to or reviewed (indicated by a large red star)… and those that are brand new (indicated by a small red circle), as well as the current location of your friends if applicable (indicated by the blue beacon).

You could quickly see that your friend is currently near 7th and 1st. You could quickly see that another friend gave Abraco on 7th St. raving reviews. Now, you can make a more informed decision on your Saturday morning coffee, with a little help from your friends. And, better yet, you can enjoy it with one as well.

Imagine how powerful this could be for you, the consumer. Google could also benefit more by adding Local Ads to the mix to promote local discounts and target against “locations not visited by friends” and “locations visited by friends”, depending on your angle.

Want to fight web spam and push local relevance? It might come down to the one thing we can’t live without: good friends.

Not sure if this has hit the media yet, but I just noticed that the map in Yelp is now powered by Bing. It appears it’s not 100% rolled out yet, as different cities give you different engines.

First, fighting words over Hotpot and Content Syndication, now, break ups and going separate ways… next, maybe Google will buy Yelp’s affection back and offer to buy Yelp again.

So, to be clear… companies that fell out of love with Google:

1)      Yelp

2)      Apple

3)      Most television networks

4)      JCPenny…

But hey, if no one hates you, you’re not doing it right, right? Right?

That, and I’m pretty sure Google’s little black book ain’t so little these days.

It’s been a busy week so far for local search.  Here’s what happened:

Google renamed their Local Business Center “Google Places.” The change seems part of a process that started a few months ag0, when Google renamed their review-aggregating map profiles “Places Pages.” Enhancements are mostly cosmetic so far, though there are two new features applicable to small business owners: 1) Google is offering 2D barcodes for businesses to print and post in their storefront, so visitors can scan and view their Google Places Page and (2) In addition to allowing business owners to upload pictures of the inside and outside of their location, now Google will even come out and take photos to add to a Places Page.

Google has also started to showcase local businesses in the street view section of maps. In street view, an icon and text links to more details, and an additional click on the thumbnail photo opens the Places Page. This seems live only in select cities right now (SF yes, NYC yes, Philly no) (take a look here — click “more” to get to street view).

Places pages — or at least streamlined versions of them — are now available for mobile on the Android and iPhone platforms.

Lastly, a very creative enhancement: Yahoo’s Local search now lets you “dig in” to menus (pun intended). You can perform a local query for a menu item, and Yahoo will return a list of restaurants where that dish appears on the menu. Though it only works for restaurants with their menu online, it lends more support for the best practice of ensuring a consistent profile on all major engines, because local results are being used in more ways and in more places. For a sample, see if you’re hungry for the following:

Lamb vindaloo in mountain view

Pierogies in Philadelphia

Peach Cobbler in Atlanta