Pete Krasilovsky writes about Google adding coupons to its maps application. It’s a good analysis, but it’s important to remember, Google has yet to do a great job at attracting small-business, local advertisers to AdWords. Why should coupons do any better? Small business owners are notoriously slow to adapt to new technology and new opportunities.

Which keeps online coupons in play for local media sites, regardless of what Jeff Jarvis says (who hasn’t seen a non-newspaper innovation yet that he hasn’t called “a stake in the heart of local newspapers”), because newspapers have the local knowledge and relationships to take such programs a step or two beyond merely self serve.

But the clock is ticking.