Bye! Bye? To the Sunny, Funny Colored Book named Yellow Pages.

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

heres the track back

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/301814/19727812
July 01, 2007
When Will The Yellow Pages Die?!

It's that time of the year again. Time for someone to drive through my neighborhood dropping off the new Yellow Pages. It seems like such a waste of paper, gas, time and money in general. I think I've used my copy of The Yellow Pages about 3 times in the past year. Honestly, the copy I put in the recycling bin looked like it had never been used!

Yeah, I know there are a lot of other people out there who don't trust online search results and still lean on this yellow relic, but how long will that last? The answer largely depends on how long doctors, attorneys, exterminators and other businesses will continue to waste their money on overvalued Yellow Pages ads.

If you're a dentist or chiropractor looking to draw in new patients, are you more interested in a Yellow Pages ad or a Google one? Yesterday's money was on the former, but tomorrow's money better be on the latter. I've tried to explain this to a couple of medical specialist friends over the past 12 months but no dice. They're way too committed to the Yellow Pages.

Here's a dentist that gets it. Dr. Helaine Smith recently launched a blog where she features podcasts about "successful smiles." (I found out about her thanks to David Meerman Scott's WebInkNow blog, btw.) I exchanged some e-mail with Dr. Smith last week and realized immediately that she's very progressive and understands the benefits of technology. In addition to the blog, her office also has one of the nicer dental websites I've seen.

Those sales reps for the various Yellow Pages across the country must be good at what they do. After all, they continue selling ad space that's worth less and less every year. It also seems like a very odd model to me. Their "customer base" always remains steady since everyone gets a copy of the Yellow Pages. Do any of these paying advertisers ever hold The Yellow Pages accountable for results though? Is there a Google Analytics equivalent in the Yellow Pages offline/print world? If so, it's got to be showing ugly, declining results.

I hopped on the YellowPages website and came across this:
"Get the 411 with YELLOWPAGES.COM's YP411 (97411)

Need something fast when you're on the go?

Finding local businesses is just a text message away with YELLOWPAGES.COM's YP411 (97411).

Text, Send and Go

Need to grab a pizza for a last minute get-together with friends but don't know the best place in town to get it?

Just text "pizza" along with the city and state or ZIP code to YP411 (97411) from wherever you are and get text message results for up to three business listings in that area!*

Dialing Smart

Click on the phone number included in the results to contact the business by phone.

Click the WAP link to receive additional business information like maps and directions, general information, hours of operations, and more from our mobile web site.

Send a Code, Get Directions

To get driving directions to or from the business, reply using the "DD" code in your YP411 text message. For example:

* To get driving directions to the business using your ZIP code: TO 99 FROM 91203

* To get driving directions to the business using your street address and ZIP code: FROM 123 Main St 91203 TO 99

* To get driving directions back from the business to your starting point using your city, state and ZIP code: FROM 99 to Glendale, CA 91203.

Driving directions may be split across multiple text messages, depending on length.

It's Nice to Share

Use YP411 on the go and plan a night out with your friends.

Once you get information on that hot new night spot everyone is talking about, you can forward the text messages you receive to your friends and plan your night out on the town."

Did you know about this? Well, if you don't know then know you know-buddy...

More than 20 Million US Phone Users Cut Land Lines, Number Growing

More than 20 million US telephone households (17%) are now "wireless substitutors" - homes without landlines that rely solely on a mobile phone - and one in five households could be wireless-only by year's end, according to a study by Nielsen Mobile.

nielsen-media-wireless-only-household-trend-q2-2008.jpg

As the US economy tightens and consumers seek ways to cut household spending, many are choosing to eliminate their landline phone service, which costs an average of $40/month per landline household, Nielsen said.

Specific stats about cord-cutters, according to the Nielsen Mobile study (pdf):

* US cord-cutters tend to have lower income levels: 59% have annual household incomes of $40K or less.
* Smaller households, with just one or two residents, are more likely to cut the cord than larger households.
* Moving and changing jobs are the biggest life events associated with cord-cutting.

nielsen-mobile-percentage-wireless-households-life-event-q2-2008.jpg

* 31% of cord-cutters moved prior to cord-cutting, and 22% changed jobs.
* Wireless substitutors tend to use their mobile phones 45% more per phone than their landline peers, but still save an average $33 per month in a household of one subscriber, less $6.69 for each additional wireless resident.

"As wireless network quality improves and unlimited calling becomes increasingly pervasive, we expect the trend toward wireless substitution to continue," said Alison LeBreton, VP of client services for Nielsen Mobile. "In a tightening economy every dollar counts, and consumers are more and more comfortable with the idea of ditching their landline connection."

Wireless substitution doesn't work for everyone, however: 10% of landline phone customers have experimented with wireless-only in their household, but then returned to landline service, Nielsen said. The primary reason people re-establish landlines is because they need them for other services, such as security systems, satellite TVs, pay-per-view services, and fax machines, among others.

Fortnightly Mailing: 2 bill...

Occasionally I've included posts about mobile phones and economic development, pointing to their much greater impact than networked PCs. See for example this 2005 article from the Economist. On 5 and 6 December the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) will hold a Workshop on the Mobile Web in Developing Countries. Here is the "background" section of the conference call in full:

"The "Digital Divide" is defined as the gap between those with regular, effective access and ability to use digital technologies and those without. An important step in the direction of filling this gap has been the deployment of mobile networks all around the world. For example, as of today, more than 80% of the world's population is covered by GSM, and more than 2 billions of people own a mobile phone (source: World Bank). With one million additional people newly subscribed every day, it is expected that by the end of 2010, almost 4 billions will have a mobile phone."

"However, even if accessing phone services is very important, the gap will be more completely filled when access to a higher level of information technologies will be widespread. Now, with the availability of high speed mobile data networks, and the appearance of increasingly-affordable web-enabled phones, one can imagine that the potential to help bridge of the divide has increased, in that people with access to a mobile phone would be able to access the Internet and the Web. However, it is fundamental to understand the needs and the expectations of the people, and the specific challenges and issues of accessing the Web from a mobile phone as a primary and often sole platform, so that the potential of resolving the gap becomes reality."

"The aim of this workshop is to gather experts in Mobile Web technologies and experts in Developing Countries and on the Digital Divide so that challenges and issues are clearly identified and tackled appropriately in a near future with the help of standardization bodies like W3C and its Mobile Web Initiative".