Did you know that cellphone carriers are now mandated by the Federal Communication Commission to provide location information for 911 emergency use?  Many now have G.P.S. chips that can pinpoint the phone’s location to within a few feet.

This is really interesting and lends itself to further discussion.  If “we” have the ability to know where exactly a person is physically located and we combine that with “our” extensive databases that include demographic, psychographic and other data, doesn’t it follow that in the near future “our” ads could be targeted not only in the message but by location?

For instance, if we want to reach potential consumers that were travelling a particular  road during a certain time period when a serious accident occurred, this technology could be even more effective then sending direct mail to accident victims – because most likely it will be far more cost effective and it will be immediate.   

I encourage you to brainstorm the possibilities.  Because of the continuing advancements in technology, we are really only limited by our own imaginations!

If you haven’t set up a LinkedIn account yet, this is something you want to do.  It’s free and it will take you about 10 minutes.  Simply go to www.linkedin.com and sign up for a free account. 

I would love to be your first connection!  You can find me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyspeaker .  I actually learned about linkedin after speaking at a conference.  One of the attendees, Ed Smith, was kind enough to write an unsolicited recommendation and sent me an invitation to connect.  I did.  It was that easy.

LinkedIn is the brainchild of Reid Hoffman.  He refers to the site as an opportunity for “relationship capital management (RCM).”  If you’ve heard of the Kevin Bacon concept of six degrees of separation, you will easily understand this.

Now, while you have a minute, sign up or leave a comment on this post with your name and email address and I’ll send you an invitation to get you started!

I picked up the New York Times the other day and on the front page there was an article entitled “Internet Giants Vie to Snap Up Web Ad Firms.”  It talked about the race among industry power players like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL to acquire small Internet advertising companies. 

NYT writer Miguel Helft states that “underlying the deals…is a transformation of the advertising world away from traditional media like television, radio and print.”  It is directly after that statement that chief executive of 360i, Bryan Wiener, makes the profound revelation that “we’ve reached a tipping point.”

How does this relate to the legal industry, and more specifically PI law?  How much time do you have?  LOL  The fact is the writing is on the wall.  Traditional mass media is experiencing diminished results with each passing month.  Replacing it in power and pervasiveness are targeted efforts to capture the vast niche audiences that turn to the Internet to assess credibility and make purchase decisions.

Bottomline:  it’s time to reallocate some of your traditional mass media advertising resources to the web.  Many opportunities exist in this arena so study it and choose your venues carefully.  Just don’t wait too long.