Abid, Internet. Internet, Abid.

Starting today, you can call any phone right from Gmail.

As of Aug. 1, the state began enforcement of a law that prohibits advertising “deceptive local telephone numbers and geographically deceptive business names” across the Internet, as well as in print advertisements and directories.

Legislation targets national businesses that camouflage themselves behind local names and listings, cluttering the advertising space. The landmark represents a clear win for neighborhood “mom-and-pops,” but also a victory for national chains (insurance, restaurants, other retailers) fighting for local brand relevance in an increasingly populous online space.

Twitter today made 2 big hires (via TechCrunch), in an effort to “ramp up the advertising platform”. Dan Coughlin joins as Eastern U.S. Sales director, while Amanda Levy will be his Western U.S. counterpart. Coughlin spent the last few years at Facebook, and before that, Marketwatch and Doubleclick.

Today during our Social Currency CrunchUp, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and John Hanke, a Google VP of Product Management, took the stage. Given that the two companies seem to be at odds with one another recently (following a failed acquisition), it was a little tense.

Google has introduced new location-aware advertising for iPhone and Android handsets. Advertisers will now have the ability to select a “location extension for display” option that will serve up their ads based upon a user’s GPS coordinates.