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Google just announced that the mobile version of Google Product Search can now tell you if a certain product is in stock at nearby stores. Currently, Google is only working with a handful of retailers, including Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm, but the company is actively looking for more partners. To see these results, just browse to Google.com on your mobile phone (Android, WebOS or Android), click the "more" link and then "Shopping." The local inventory will be updated in real time and is currently only available for users in the U.S.

Georgetown roommates David Ambrose and Justin Tsang never thought their time spent together in the dorms would amount to a joint business. The two recently launched Scoop St. - a group buying discount site for local deals on restaurants, spa packages, sporting events and concerts. Similar to other shopping sites like Woot and GIlt, users have a limited time to purchase. However, with Scoop St. and competitor Groupon, a minimum number of users must sign up for an offer by the end of the day. When the minimum is met, your credit card is charged, but if no one else signs up for the deal, then you aren't charged a penny.

When you search for a local business on Google Maps, Google displays general information like address and opening hours about this business. Since December 2009, Google Place Pages also present a sentiment analysis based on comments on sites like CitySearch, Zagat, OpenTable and TripAdvisor. Now, Google has started to display reviews from hyperlocal blogs and news sites as well.

Google just launched an interesting update to its Google Local Business Center that makes Place Pages more interesting and interactive. After claiming their business through the Google Local Business Center, business owners can now easily post short updates about their companies on their respective Place Page. In addition, businesses that have been claimed by their owners will now feature a badge that highlights the fact that the actual owner of this business has claimed and improved the page.

BlockChalk is an anonymous message board for your neighborhood. The company's founders want to enable neighbors to interact with each other while protecting everybody's privacy. At it's core, BlockChalk feels a bit like an anonymous, location-based Twitter clone.

BlockChalk just released its native iPhone app (iTunes link) today and also offers an app for the Palm Pre and Pixi. Android users can access the service through a mobile website.

Today, Google announced a new search offering for mobile devices. The redesigned search experience will free handset users from having to type by including browseable categories. Local mobile search will also integrate with saved Google Maps information on a user's computer.

At first glance, this seems to be a great new tool to streamline the flow of information between our online and offline worlds. But how well does Google's new local mobile search work in reality?

Can apartment buildings be communities? Modern times bear little resemblance to the A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, it-takes-a-village scenes of yesteryear; but one startup, at least, is attempting to foster a greater sense of community on a hyperlocal level.

BuildingBulletins provides a simple, social interface for building residents to communicate with one another on just about any relevant topic. From community classes to Craigslist-style classifieds, the site lets residents connect with their neighbors and, as one of their cofounders wrote to us, "get stuff done in their building."

MSNBC.com just announced that it has acquired EveryBlock, a 'hyperlocal' news and information site that has been publishing and aggregating data and news stories for 16 American cities for the last two years. EveryBlock aggregates local news stories, but it also makes publicly available information like data about restaurant inspections and crimes available in an easy to read format. EveryBlock had been funded by a two-year grant from the Knight Foundation. This is MSNBC.com's second major acquisition, having bought the social news site Newsvine in October 2007.

This morning, Google announced that it will now display images next to some local search results. For the last two years, Google generally showed a map as the first item on the search results page whenever a user searched for a location, but now, a grid with six pictures will also appear next to this map as well. These images come right from the Panoramio photo layer in Google Maps, and clicking on it brings up Google Maps with the photo layer.

An Interview with Spot.us about the changing nature of journalism.

These days, everywhere you look it seems that some newspaper is closing its doors, stopping its presses, or maybe just going online-only. This sea of change is being heralded by some as the "death of journalism," a transformation that has been brought about thanks to the web. But is the web really killing journalism? Or, is it allowing an entirely new type of journalism to emerge?

First there were movies, then there was TV, now prepare for the entertainment platform of the future: the "mobile immersive experience." That's actually not it's official name, but is a term that was invented on the spot this week at a dinner gathering of Nokia execs, journalists, and oh yes - Tim Kring, the creator and executive producer of NBC's "Heroes." He was there to talk about what is the first attempt at a new entertainment experience using mobile as the platform. And it's going to be nothing like anything you've ever seen before.

Yesterday, as Facebook rolled out their revamped homepage which delivered new features like real-time updates, filters, and an improved sharing box, another update was quietly occurring behind the scenes. While everyone was busy analyzing the front-end changes to the user interface, Facebook announced to advertisers there were some major updates coming for them as well. According to a Facebook blog post, advertisers are now able to target ads based on languages spoken and the location of users.

Around this time last year, we were excited about a new Firefox extension called MySocial24x7 which brought FriendFeed activity streams right into your browser sidebar. Built on the Google App Engine platform, the add-on was one of the first to make use of the FriendFeed API. Unfortunately, the add-on's creator Sandosh Vasudevan stopped work on the extension and soon it became out-of-date. But now, with permission from Sandosh, a new developer has taken over and the add-on has returned.

Ohpan is a news ticker. OK, that's one way of describing it, but it's about as far removed from what Ohpan does - and has the potential to do - as calling a Tivo a VCR. Unveiled today in invite-only beta (don't worry, we've got access codes for you), Ohpan takes the concept of a scrolling feed and tricks it out until it's hardly recognizable. Atype Studios, the creator, calls it a dynamic side-scrolling infostream.

After World War 2, America built the infrastructure to deliver mass produced products, by mass transit for mass markets. We consumed along the arteries of this infrastructure, in supermarkets, fast food chains and airport malls. We have now passed the high water mark of this long distance, mass culture; the trend now is towards “re-localization”, where we are less dependent on the two dominant grids of the 20th Century - electric grid and interstate highways - as we rely increasingly on the digital grid/cloud.

If there's one thing city search sites have in common it's their predictability. Looking for something to do? You can plow through the various categories: movies, theater, dining, concerts, museums,...yawn. It's always the same. And heck, if you knew what you wanted to do, you won't be bothering with a city search site in the first place, would you? You would just be doing it already. Maybe it's time for a better way to explore your city: by mood.

Did you know that the way you surf the internet may be influenced by your culture? In the U.S. and Europe, web surfers are leaning forward, one hand on the mouse and the other on the keyboard, typing and mousing equally. In China, however, the process is much different. Web surfers there tend to lean back from the monitor while keeping one hand on the mouse, the other hand dangling. The keyboard is used much less frequently as much of the navigation is done with clicks instead.

Citysearch, the popular local restaurant and shopping guide, announced a new beta version of its service tonight. The new version provides a better local search experience, with the ability to search specific neighborhoods instead of just metropolitan areas. Citysearch also announced a retooled mobile site, which lets users read and write reviews on their mobile devices, and gives them access to menus from participating restaurants. Citysearch has also implemented Facebook Connect, which allows users to log in to the site with their Facebook accounts, and the company plans to roll out OpenID support early next year.

You can fine the new beta at beta.citysearch.com.

A newly launched service called near.ly sends you links to news and blogs posts that are happening in your area. The news items ("nearlies") are sent to you via a Twitter direct message that consists of a quick headline and a bit.ly-powered URL. Yes, this service is a Twitter app, but it was built to demonstrate the potential of the brand-new Outside.in API. The API was built around Outside.in's "news around you" feature called Radar which delivers news, stories, and blog posts that are located within 1000 feet of a particular location.

According to a rather speculative report by research firm ABI Research, location-based social networks like Brightkite, GyPSii, Pelago and Loopt could reach revenues as high as $3.3 billion by 2013. The report, however, also warns that the business models might differ from what most analysts are expecting today. According to ABI research, most of these networks will make their money from licensing and revenue-sharing with network providers or handset manufacturers.