Here's a nice overview and collection of links from John Battelle, looking back on the year of developments in search. Lots to see here. Of particular interest to me is his statement: "local is still the bomb."
Indeed, I was having a meeting with the esteemed Bob Heyman of interactive agency Mediasmith the other day and he and I were discussing a range of issues in search. He said to me that he felt Local was the future of search (especially on mobile devices). Indeed it is, but it will take time to mature.
I've now heard it said many times, although the original attribution escapes me at the moment: "We overestimate what will happen in one year and underestimate what will happen over five years." That's Local in a nutshell.
