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Is the printed Yellow Pages redundant? |
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| Written by Neil Barr |
| Wednesday, 07 July 2010 10:10 |
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Personally, I can't remember the last time I looked through a Yellow Pages - compact or not. To be honest, I'd rather not receive them as they just end up in the recycling. All that energy gone in to producing, printing and delivering them seems like a waste to me. But am I alone? It's easy for people whose work revolves around the Internet to forget that not everyone lives their lives online. Whilst I would rather do an online search for a business - or even crowdsource information through Twitter or Facebook - many still prefer the real world, with real objects, with a real phone number you can call up to (hopefully) speak to a real person. So, is it time to ditch the directory which last year consumed 31,000 tonnes of paper? Whilst the poll results will be very unscientific - afterall, most of you reading this probably haven't stepped away from the computer for years - it will be interesting to know what you think. Comments (6)
  written by Lynne, July 07, 2010
I had the Yellow Pages delivered two weeks ago. I unwrapped it from the plastic then promptly took it (and the many accompanying flyers)straight out to the recycling bin.
As far as I can tell there is no way to opt out of having them delivered either which upsets my eco-morals! If I want to find a company/service I'll Google it (I don't even bother with yell.com anymore)
 written by Paul Ferrie, July 07, 2010
Can't remember the last time I looked at a yellow pages or a phone book. Most probably 20+ years ago when I did tried what every other kids was trying and that was to rip the book in half lol
 Did see a yellow pages for this year land on my door step a few weeks back. Certainly wouldn't have fitted through my letter box.
 written by Mertens, July 07, 2010
In Glasgow I only ever used the yellow pages as a stepping block so my girlfriend could reach the high shelves, but in my village in Iowa I've had to use it 3 or 4 times this week.
I do agree that there should be some way to opt out (or in). Also, how did they make it smaller? Is it just a by-product of these economic times?
 written by Neil Barr, July 07, 2010
A study was done and it was discovered that usage of the Yellow Pages increased by 7% when the size of the directory was reduced. The new versions will be 5 cm shorter and 4 cm narrower now. 85% of Yellow Page users say they would prefer the smaller version of the handy directory. The new Yellow Pages compact version will be introduced in June of 2010. The smaller size means that the books can be slipped into letter boxes easily and it will save about 5,000 tonnes of paper pulp a year.
 written by Ryan , May 26, 2011
Interesting post thanks. No matter how long I sit and think of the reasons why someone may decide to use a printed version of the Yellow Pages I can't think of any - it baffles me that they still print it. Think of the wasted paper! If people want Yellow Pages then it should be available by request rather than delivering them to everyone I think
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For the moment there's still a huge number of small, local businesses that don't have a website or are hard to find online - for these businesses the Yellow Pages is still where the majority of their customers find them.
Plumbers, gardeners, computer support businesses etc. will still get the majority of their business through the Yellow Pages for at least a few years to come.
This might not be so prevalent in a city but if you live in a small or medium sized town then the web is the last place you'd look for a local business.
I recently finished a small website for a family member who runs their own (and quite successful) IT support business - mainly dealing with small businesses and local clients. They receive most of their business from word of mouth and and the Yellow Pages; despite having had a website for several years and being listed all over the web.
Of course it's all changing, but in the mean time I'd say the Yellow Pages is still very relevant.