In an internal study (noticed by Adena Schutzberg at the All Points Blog), Google found that "micro-geographic networks" are where information flows.”  In other words, physical proximity influences people’s behavior more than factors such as mailing lists, online social networks, and the like.

This finding may seem ironic in the “Internet age” where, we are told, technology facilitates the global economy by making distance irrelevant.  Yet time and again we are reminded that distance and location do, indeed, matter a great deal (see Marc Andreessen’s take on the issue).

Good news for us GIS folks, eh?