Kill the Phone Book and Save a Billion Pages of Paper
The unthinkable has happened again. Someone has littered my neighborhood with useless heaps of paper in the form of a phone book. In this case it was the Valley Yellow Pages, but there have been others. Most families today never requested to have yellow pages like Valley Yellow Pages delivered, yet these relics from another time have been dumped continually on every local driveway.
After a little informal polling, I found that no one I asked in my very limited sampling pool has cracked open a phone book in the past year. I have not used one for at least four years. In this day and age, all the time, money, and trees that go into the physical publication of the phone books seem to serve no purpose other than to add to our recycling bins.
The publisher of the Valley Yellow Pages prints 7.7 million directories every year. The copy I received has 222 pages. Assuming that number is the average for all of the areas that publisher serves, the total number of pages used is 1,709,400,000 per year.
The Valley Yellow Pages does offer an opt-out form buried somewhere on its website, www.myyp.com/directories. Unfortunately, Valley Yellow Pages does not currently offer a permanent opt-out, so this form must be completed every year.
As a realtor, I admit I have done my fair share of advertising by mail. In the past two years, I have reduced my own mass mailing load to almost nothing. I am confident that as more and more people choose to respond to only digital media and intentionally ignore junk mail, we can collectively send a message to advertisers that it is time to kill the phone book for good and save a billion pages of paper.
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12:22 AM on September 10th, 2010
Believe it or not, I’ve actually used it within the past few months.
5:58 AM on September 10th, 2010
makes my business phone ring more than any other media.
9:48 AM on September 10th, 2010
I suppose it depends on the type of business. Have you noticed any change in effectiveness over the past couple of years?
7:12 AM on September 10th, 2010
I use it all the time. The Yellow Pages are far more useful to this world than any realtor could ever hope to be. They also take up less space, use fewer resources, and result in less waste than realtors do. We need to get rid of realtors, not the Yellow Pages.
10:00 AM on September 10th, 2010
You might be surprised at how much I agree with your cynical view of my profession. In fact, I expect that just as technology has displaced the need for printed phone books, much of what Realtors have done in the past can be augmented or replaced by technology. In years past Realtors provided listings of available properties, now Clients contact me with more info than they can ever use. I welcome the shift to well informed Clients consulting me for my knowledge and experience instead of just MLS listings.
7:24 AM on September 10th, 2010
I saw a report about this on TV and it was said that some states have an opt-in program for the yellow pages. That means that ONLY the people that ask to get it, will get it.. I don’t recall the actual number, but I think when they implemented that, only about 9-10% “wanted” to get the yellow pages.. The remaining 90% use the internet (or just didn’t care or want to get it— The savings of paper pulp/trees was a very substantial number…
There was even talk of us moving to that opt-in here in California but some politicians voted against that: http://abc7news.typepad.com/finneyblog/2010/04/ca-considers-cutting-down-on-yellow-pages-delivery.html
The ONLY argument I could think of is that there is too much money being made on ads for the yellow pages companies, that they don’t want to do this and may be spending money to not have this happen– The good news is that one day soon we will indeed see this become opt-in.
2:21 PM on September 10th, 2010
Don’t you think companies would stop advertising if it didn’t work. The Yellow Pages companies wouldn’t make money if it didn’t work. Many people in the US don’t use the Internet for searching for local businesses…they just aren’t online chatting about it. A behavior that has been established (like using the phone book to find local businesses) doesn’t just go away. You have millions in various age groups that continue to rely on this source of info. Plus…they don’t cut down trees for their paper. Their paper is made from recycled products and old paper. Attack the electronics industry…they are really bad for the environment. At least paper is sustainable (hey we can grow more trees – which is what they do now, they farm trees responsiblity….just like any other crop), recyclable and biodegradable. Let’s be honest!
7:46 AM on September 10th, 2010
The YP industry doesn’t want to deliver books to anyone who doesn’t wish to receive them, so our publishers created the site:
http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com. This site allows consumers to reduce, customize or eliminate delivery of books.
FYI, in 2009 there were more than 12 billion references to the printed YP and the return on investment for advertisers remains very strong. Full disclosure, I work for the Yellow Pages Association and for more information about our industry, go to http://www.ypassociation.org.
12:21 PM on September 10th, 2010
It’s STILL a 12 Billion dollar industry HELLO!, you may not use it, your friends may not use it, your family may not use it (perception), but I can say the same thing about city buses and I will, I don’t ride them, my friends don’t ride them my family members don’t ride them…….conclusion buses are obsolete, no, buses get used enough that major cities spend a lot of money making them available. Yellow pages brings buyers and sellers together at the time they already made the decision to to buy, they just need to know who locally does it, or has it. The internet is also a way to do the same, but all across America the high speed connectivity is at best 45% Average due to cost and service, that means that an advertisers buying message at the most critical time probably will not be available if he relys solely (2010) on Internet. Yellow Pages on the other hand is delivered to every home and business in it’s coverage area FREE, that means 90 percentile penetration with the advertisers message. Also all the same info in a yellow page ad is enough to satisfy the need to entice a phone call or visit for business, the ads have web addresses for more info etc. Why do you think most large reputable Yellow Page Publishers also are on the digital front…..because they know they have always been in the business of putting buyers and sellers together and have used Yellow Pages as the effective vehicle for over 130 years. Yellow page publishers also know there is a technology shift to the digital world for buyers and sellers and they are right there with feet on the street sales people to help guide the advertisers to the effective affordable use to attract customers like they have been doing for over 130 years. No company wants to pay to print books, bind books, load books on a truck unload books off a truck and then hand deliver to every home and business if they don’t have to. But the fact is call measurement from independent sources still prove that in 2010 calls are still happening, businesses are making great returns on investment and did I mention it’s a 12 billion dollar industry? Just to give you and idea of what a billion is; a billion seconds ago was 1959, a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive, a billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the stone ages (using yellow pages, LOL) and a billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet, now imagine 12 times that and that’s your useless 2010 yellow pages at work, 95% recycled paper( the other 5% comes from the waste from making round trees in to square boards) has been used, vegetable based inks have been used for over 10 years (before anyone complained) so you may ride the bus, I don’t, I may use the yellow pages you don’t but the fact remains the same in 2010 the VALUE of the product is still there………I work for a 40 year old company that does print yellow pages, does Internet Yellow pages and web banner advertising, soon to be in the web coupon business, mobile App ads and any other digital product that will bring my customers a good return on investment. So if you were to go to your investment broker and tell him you would like 10% returns on your investments each year would you then proceed to tell him were he can and can not invest that money to get the best return? no you let the expert invest, same with the YP industry we will place some money in PRINT, some in Online and some mobile because we are the experts to get your ROI. So sorry to call you I moron I’m sure you did not know, maybe in 2020 you’ll be right but not in 2010, we don’t care either we will have what the customer needs to get business. Think outside the perception always rely on fact, it will serve you well. And for all you bloggers and blog readers remember this; “The internet does not discriminate between sober minded scholars and delusional crackpots, leaving visitors without a RELIABLE filter to determine what’s trustworthy and what’s not”. Gotta go my dinosaur is double parked!
3:38 PM on September 10th, 2010
Dear Mr. Pellow Wages,
You are obviously an expert in the yellow pages business. I’m curious about something. Do the Yellow Pages distributors require a permit from the city to drop directories off on the private property of every resident of Dublin? If so, which city department approves the permit? If a permit is not required, is there some universal federal right granted to the distributors of phonebooks that exempt them from litter laws? Can anyone distribute anything they like door to door with impunity? I realize realtors, political campaigns, cleaning services, pizza delivery companies, gardeners and others occasionally blanket a neighborhood with their literature, but the sheer size of the phonebooks makes all other distributions pale in comparison.
Curious George Z
5:41 PM on September 10th, 2010
Wolly Segap, (yes, I get it “yellow pages” sort of backwards)
I find your closing line interesting: “And for all you bloggers and blog readers remember this; “The internet does not discriminate between sober minded scholars and delusional crackpots, leaving visitors without a RELIABLE filter to determine what’s trustworthy and what’s not”
Is there something in a phone book, TV, radio, or bathroom graffiti that can make that distinction?
You almost got it right though…I am a sober minded crackpot and a delusional scholar, and proud of it.
Eric
7:31 PM on September 10th, 2010
Sleep Aglow,
How utterly gracious and impartial of you to call Eric a moron for opining that the Yellow Pages have become useless litter! My experience is similar to Eric’s in that nobody I polled today uses the Yellow Pages that show up unsolicited on our doorsteps every year. Most go directly into the recycling bin. But no need to take it from me when intellectual heavyweights & cultural icons Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford weighed in on the subject at 10:22 am today on NBC’s Today Show. When shown a Yellow Pages book as part of a child’s craft project, Hoda remarked incredulously “I can’t believe they still make those!” and Kathie Lee asked sarcastically “Does anybody use those anymore?” Perhaps the books still get used by a certain segment of the population (think AARP), but for most of us, Hoda and Kathie Lee (and Eric) simply expressed what we’ve been thinking for years.
What a surprise that you work for a company that produces the Yellow Pages! One man’s litter is another man’s bread & butter. Many business owners have wised up to the Yellow Pages sales reps’ scare tactics of “All your competitors have taken out ads and you won’t get any business if you don’t do the same.”
Incidentally, in the craft project on the Today Show, the guest expert cut the Yellow Pages book in half and made a pencil holder out of it. Finally, a useful purpose has been discovered for the Yellow Pages!
Anna Graham
1:22 PM on September 10th, 2010
When are 2010 API scores going to be released?
3:45 PM on September 10th, 2010
Anonymous asked, “When are 2010 API scores going to be released?”.
They will be released publicly on Monday, September 13. District officials received their scores a week or two ago and have been busy formulating their excuses or their gloatings in preparation for the 13th.
2:38 PM on September 13th, 2010
868, not bad for DHS.
DUBLIN UNIFIED 878 854
Dublin Elementary 890 870
Eleanor Murray Fallon 910 898
Frederiksen Elementary 861 832
James Dougherty Elementary 939 944
John Green Elementary 933 925
Murray Elementary 870 836
Wells Middle 838 789
Dublin High 868 842
Valley High (Continuation) 555* 606*
2:46 PM on September 10th, 2010
I use mine under the front wheel of my stationary bike to level it. I always recycle them. I have the current one in my bookcase in case I ever need to look for a type of business or service. But honestly never look at it. I believe that many small businesses prefer this simple paper directory approach rather than maintaining adverts on websites or maintaining a website. My business recently was asked by an on-line yellow pages to subscribe for $89 per month for one business listing. I do not believe that on-line directories are the answer.
9:30 AM on September 11th, 2010
I just used my yellow Pages when my computer froze up! Come to think of it I also used it about 6 months ago when I had a plumbing problem and there was water on my kitchen floor. I believe the yellow pages still is being used for many and I know for myself without thinking I have reached for the old reliable book. Easier to find something quicky, and local.
10:17 AM on September 13th, 2010
The Yellow Pages makes money by providing figures to advertisers that says they delivered X amount of books in various neighborhoods. But, just because X amount of Yellow Pages are printed and delivered DOESN’T mean X amount of Yellow Pages are actually read or used by the community. Most could be immediately dumped in recycling bins. That is the disconnect here.
The reason legitimate publications are circulation audited is that if readers aren’t requesting to receive something, it has no value. And while this distinction should make a big difference to businesses when they’re making advertising decisions, it often doesn’t. Many business owners don’t have the time to fully research the available options—or make sense of the statistics provided by publishers of, essentially, junk mail.
3:42 PM on September 13th, 2010
Ok…I am officially on the OneDublin bandwagon. 868 is only 2pts shy of California High in San Ramon and better than the Walnut Creek schools.
5:35 PM on September 13th, 2010
Not so fast. After only several short years, Livermore Valley Charter School turns out to be the best middle school in Livermore with an API score of 900:
http://www.greatschools.org/modperl/achievement/ca/13968#api
It seems like charter schools can do very well. It is possible that Tassajara Prep can do even better than Dublin High. It could even beat Dougherty Valley High in San Ramon!!!
12:55 PM on September 14th, 2010
Anonymous writes: “Ok…I am officially on the OneDublin bandwagon.”
Good for you. However, if you were being honest, you would have admitted that you have always been on the OneDublinHighSchool bandwagon. You have a child that is a current or former student at Dublin HS, or you live on the west side, or you are a Dublin HS student or alumni, or you work for the school district, or you are related to someone that works for the district, or you are close friends with someone that works for the district, or your kids will be too old to attend Tassajara Prep when it opens, or all of the above. I can guarantee that over 90% of the OneDublinHighSchool believers fit into one or more of those categories. Probably very close to 100%. They are not now, and never have been, candidates for Tassajara Prep, and so they selfishly oppose it.
Tassajara Prep Supporter
1:36 PM on September 14th, 2010
What’s really sad is that when your kids are of school age, TP will be a distant memory and you’re just happy that the yellow bus comes around to pick up the kids.
1:13 PM on September 14th, 2010
Dear OneDublin Bandwagoneer,
You are apparently not interested in a true college prep high school, or else you have fallen for the ongoing misdirection cast by the DUSD and OneDublin, who deliberately avoid distinguishing proficiency test results from college readiness.
I think we can all agree that the higher Dublin High’s API score becomes, the better, because the score shows how well the district is doing at teaching basic skills. On the other hand, a standardized proficiency test that does not cover higher skills (for example, the STARS test only goes up to Algebra) does not tell the real story about college preparedness. API scores are a good measure of elementary and middle school academic performance, but at the high school level they say very little about how well students are prepared for success in college. The same can be said about the High School Exit Exam, which explains why 81% of California high school sophomores pass the exam on the first try. Much more meaningful measures of college readiness are SAT and AP scores. Fortunately this Around Dublin blog has done an excellent job of publicizing the SAT and AP scores that the school district and OneDublin naturally don’t want to talk about.
Another TP Supporter
3:53 PM on September 14th, 2010
Official OneDublin Fanatic,
You are focussing on the wrong tests. You should be much more concerned about your high school’s AP and SAT scores than its API score. The OneDublin gang loves to brag about how many Dublin HS students take the AP tests, since that’s the sole criteria Newsweek uses to compile its list of America’s top high schools, completely ignoring how the students actually do on the tests. Notice that OneDublin carefully avoids the topic of Dublin High’s AP Test pass rate (4′s and 5′s) and the percentage of students scoring over 1500 on the SAT test, even though those are much more important indicators of college readiness. That’s because they are at or near the bottom of Tri-Valley high schools. The percentages are unacceptably low and they need to improve a lot. Opponents of Tassajara Prep appear to believe that the only way for Dublin HS to improve is to force all students in Dublin to attend Dublin HS, because “offering a choice of high schools will hurt Dublin HS.” What a cynical viewpoint!
And don’t even get me started about UC Acceptance Rates.
Everyone in Dublin should want Dublin HS to improve and excel. It’s good for the students and it’s good for the city. Too bad Dublin HS defenders feel that the only way they can succeed is if they prevent the opening of Tassajara Prep. That’s a selfish, narrow-minded, and short-sighted position that ignores the tremendous benefits that a true college prep high school choice will bring to Dublin public school education.
More TP Supporters
4:26 PM on September 14th, 2010
“selfish, narrow-minded, and short-sighted…”
and bigoted, fear-mongering…
5:02 PM on September 14th, 2010
It is people like you who give TP Supports a bad name.
10:19 PM on September 14th, 2010
It’s hard to beat James and his economic terrorist ways. I hope the charter school folks were able to get a full list of businesses he and DUSD targeted.
11:12 AM on September 15th, 2010
On the same note, are you implying Doughterty and Fallon are not good schools also? Why aren’t we starting a charter k-8 school as well?
11:22 AM on September 15th, 2010
Here is the quote:
“API scores are a good measure of elementary and middle school academic performance, but at the high school level they say very little about how well students are prepared for success in college. ”
Can’t you read?
11:26 AM on September 15th, 2010
Quote from whom??? I like how you quote yourself.
11:33 AM on September 15th, 2010
Quote from the poster himself/herself…
What do you mean by “on the same note”? You seem to have serious deficiency in reading comprehension. My fifth grader can understand better than you.
5:54 AM on September 15th, 2010
Council candidates seeking two open seats shared their plans Monday night for the city’s outlook over the next four years, including a revamped downtown, creating a business-friendly environment and whether the city needs a charter high school.
All candidates agreed that the city does not need a proposed charter high school on the east side of town. They noted that the city does not make decisions on schools, but they did say that Dublin High was doing its job.
7:04 AM on September 15th, 2010
For years people have been asking this question at these forums. Unlike in previous years, we actually have a real chance for change. You know, I think it’s funny how the District keeps saying there is no support for the charter school and that no one wants it. If you believe that lie, why would the charter school come up as a question? Also, why didn’t the candidates say there is no support at the forum?
Take a closer look at the candidates. Eric Swalwell was the one who voted against the second high school that was part of East Dublin from the beginning. Don Biddle used to run DPIE. Kate Scholz is a retired public school teacher.
7:07 AM on September 15th, 2010
One more thing…they have also been saying that we need to revitalize Downtown forever. Still, every election cycle this tired issue gets some lip service and nothing is done. The vacancy rate in East Dublin did not even register with these candidates.
10:58 AM on September 15th, 2010
So sad that a bunch of west Dublin crooks are running the city!
10:59 AM on September 15th, 2010
Regarding community support for the proposed Charter school, if I was the City Council, I’d be making that comment on the fact that:
(1) no parents showed up in support of TP at the Dublin school board meeting where it was presented
(2) no parents showed up in support of TP at the County school board meeting where it was presented
(3) no parents with school-aged kids signed the Chater petition
It’s great that anonymous supporters are voicing support on this forum, but until parents with middle school and high school aged kids show support and commit to send their kids for the first year, I dont see “support.”
For the record, I AM a parent with a middle school child in Dublin. 4.0 student, 95%+ percentile STAR test results, school athlete, etc — and I certainly wont be subjecting her as a guinnea-pig for TP.
12:07 PM on September 15th, 2010
Why would the support of high school kids matter? How has the “support” for Dublin High the past decade translated in terms of college acceptance? The fact is the moderator wouldn’t have asked the question if he thinks it’s just some crazy idea that has no support.
4:51 PM on September 17th, 2010
The fact is the moderator wouldn’t have asked the question if he thinks it’s just some crazy idea that has no support.
Unless the moderator wanted to emphasize the fact that the idea is out there, that it’s not a very good idea, and that it has no support.