For a while, it was widely assumed that the Web's primary function would be to facilitate communication among like-minded users who were separated by physical distance.
Circumstances change, however.
But in a growing number of cyber-capitals, such as the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and certain college towns, Web penetration can go well above 25 percent. At this point, these businesses are unlikely to abandon traditional means of local marketing, such as print yellow pages, newspaper classifieds, telemarketing, and direct-mail flyers. But there is definitely a growing role for a Web presence in the local marketing arena. On the Web, for instance, local businesses can converse with customers via e-mail, advertise by neighborhood, provide online maps to their locations that can be printed out, show pictures of their offerings, and even feature electronic coupons for daily specials. If developed successfully, such local services may go a long way toward being an efficient time saver for shopping, entertainment, and information gathering-a critical need mentioned by family members in focus group after focus group.