Impact of GPS on Location Based Information Sites

If location-based sites like
Yelp are able to harness the capabilities of
GPS enabled phones with a shared SMS style messaging service similar to what
Twitter does, they are certain to have a goldmine on their hands.

Based on what I have found, sites like Yelp and
CitySearch will continue to grow in value as more and more people rely on these GPS enabled devices to find goods on the go.  Having users that are particularly engaged with writing reviews, posting images, etc. for specific localized businesses gives location-based sites that offer this level of style interaction a leg up on primary competitors like Google’s local search, although performing a local search on Google will compile reviews from various other sites including
Zagat online, the level of engagement and disruptive aspects of the user experience are considerably lower.

A competitive advantage for these location-based sites will definitely be realized if they can get the businesses that they display reviews for to pay them for transmitting targeted advertisements to the GPS enabled devices belonging to site members who opt-in for receipt of such promotional solicitations from those local businesses.