Woolworth. Sears. KMart. WalMart. The Internet. Napster. Amazon. iTunes. Open-source software.

And now, HARO.

HARO, aka HelpaReporter.com is proving to be disruptive to PR Newswire’s ProfNet, a service for subject matter experts (SME) – which could easily be you. ProfNet charges sources to connect with reporters who need an expert to interview for their next story.

NOTE: Reporters and other journalists (hmmm, bloggers?) get access to PR Newswire’s ProfNet at no cost. Only sources pay.

I’m on the HARO list (from a source side) and the queries from reporters are indeed high quality and often from the NYT, AP, etc.

But that really isn’t why I mention this today.

I’m thinking of how you should be looking at this angle.

It might be hard for someone to come into your nice, juicy market and have this kind of impact, but this is far from the first time it has happened.

What would a HARO look like in your market?

It wouldn’t have to be free. Clearly, HARO creator Peter Shankman is getting work as a result, so don’t limit your thinking to “the HARO for my market must be free”.

How long is it going to take you to be a disrupting force instead of the disrupted one feeling the effects of that force?

Or will you simply wait for someone else to disrupt your market?

Think about it.