It’s no surprise that our Local Search Usage Study has garnered some interest. To some, it’s reaffirming what they already knew about local — it’s hot right now (and getting hotter). But others are realizing the true potential of this study that mentions the little things that sneak up on our market in the night — social and mobile.

Social networks aren’t a “new” concept anymore. But what is new is that consumers are starting to use these social networks for local business searches.  Currently four percent of 18-24 year olds are using social sites to find local business information. Some might scoff at that percentage — big deal, right? Well, on the contrary — it is a big deal. This is just another way that consumers are becoming multi modal in an ever-changing marketplace. Social isn’t just for networking — it’s also being used to find relevant, local information. Considering social media is still considered to be in its infancy, I can only imagine the implications for local search in the future.

And what’s that you say about mobile? Okay, we realize it’s not the “year of mobile search” yet, but mobile search has taken some pretty big steps in the past year. Compared to June 2008, 127 percent more users accessed local content via downloaded applications on mobile devices. That’s nothing to sneeze at.

So here’s a little glimpse into the future. Let’s put local, social and mobile all in a blender and see what comes out. It’s the best of all worlds. You have users looking up restaurant on their phones as they walk down the street. Then, they tweet about their dining experience while uploading reviews to a bevy of local search sites and social networks.

Has your brain exploded yet? Well, that’s what the future holds for us. And it’s all due to the power of local and social and mobile. OH MY!