Why are we still producing and advertising phone books?

[sillymofo]

I mean, when's the last time you actually inside a phone book to find information? If I can't find it on the internet, it probably doesn't exist.

Most household in America now has at least one computer, so why are we still chopping down trees and filling our garbage bins with phone books?

 

[Pepsei]

Also, why have commercials at all about phone books? as if they have any other competitions. We all get one white and one yellow one from the phone company.

 

[Anubis]

i used one yesterday

anything that is local is impossiable to find on the net, for my area anyway

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Pepsei
Also, why have commercials at all about phone books? as if they have any other competitions. We all get one white and one yellow one from the phone company.

The "Yellow Book" commercials are actually pretty entertaining.

 

[Pepsei]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33

Originally posted by: Pepsei
Also, why have commercials at all about phone books? as if they have any other competitions. We all get one white and one yellow one from the phone company.

The "Yellow Book" commercials are actually pretty entertaining.

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure what other book they're talking about... there isn't any other books here.

 

[Match]

Originally posted by: Anubis
anything that is local is impossiable to find on the net, for my area anyway

same here

 

[MichaelD]

B/C there are technophobes like my Mother that think Satan himself lives inside a computer. My Mother LITERALLY just learned how to program the VCR to tape a show about 3 months ago. Really.

She is 72, God bless her.

 

[MoPHo]

Not everyone has broadband. Many people still have dial-up and probably would prefer using a phone book then waiting for their slow a$$ connection that they have to pay for.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
B/C there are technophobes like my Mother that think Satan himself lives inside a computer. My Mother LITERALLY just learned how to program the VCR to tape a show about 3 months ago. Really.

She is 72, God bless her.

hell my dads only 55 and i had to show him how to check email useing outlook about an hour ago

 

[Nohr]

I live in a town of about 30,000 and I have 3 totally seperate and current phone books.

 

[dman]

Because businesses spend a lot of money to advertise in them and the phone co enjoys that source of revenue.

I asked about getting them on CDROM way back when, because surely it's cheaper to distribute a $.0x cent disc then a 15lb book to my door. But, if it was on cdrom I wouldn't be seeing all those adds when I flip the yellowpages and advertisers might not continue giving the phone co their $$$.

Well thta's my thought.

 

[mobobuff]

Originally posted by: Anubis
i used one yesterday

anything that is local is impossiable to find on the net, for my area anyway

 

[xyion]

I was at work the other day, and a lady came in to look up an address. Thats a good reason for a phone book.

 

[sillymofo]

Another reason not to have phone books - cellular phones. Every one is carrying around one nowaday, so if you can't find the place, operator is just a phone call away.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Same reason we still have newspapers and checkbooks....old people who won't get with the times.

 

[Thegonagle]

I use my phone books all the time. For local information, no internet site can beat the "real" phone book from the local phone company, and directory assistance is a rip-off at best, and useless at worst.

And at today's prices for a call to information, well, let's just say I refuse to spend $1.25 for a listing that's already printed in a book I have next to my phone. (Number of 411 calls I've made in the last 3 or more years: 0. Number of listings I've looked up in a phone book in that time: Well, I haven't counted, but there must have been dozens of them, including those times I've needed the address of a place, not just the phone number.)

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: Anubis
i used one yesterday

anything that is local is impossiable to find on the net, for my area anyway

yep

 

[Pepsei]

Originally posted by: xyion
I was at work the other day, and a lady came in to look up an address. Thats a good reason for a phone book.

7-11 or gas station?

 

[Eli]

Just the other day, actually. Needed to call some Toyota places about getting our sunroof fixed.

You know, there are people that don't get online... lol

 

[Zim Hosein]

Most household in America now has at least one computer, so why are we still chopping down trees and filling our garbage bins with phone books?

It's assisted suicide for trees!

 

I use a phonebook all the time.

 

[jjones]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I use a phonebook all the time.

 

[DrPizza]

Sorry to burst your tech l337 bubble, but there are a lot of numbers in the phone book that aren't online, or if they are, would take far longer to find online than in a phone book conveniently sitting next to the phone.

Personally, I probably use the computer 75% of the time, but that's because mine is ALREADY ON. I'd bet that the vast majority of homes do not keep their computers on 24/7. If I'm downstairs in our house, rather than near my computer which is upstairs, it would be retarded to go upstairs to go online, rather than picking up the phone book that's already NEXT TO THE PHONE. Also, I'll bet the vast majority of people are, in terms of computer saviness, morons. Thus, their computers probably take a couple of minutes to boot up due to all the spyware and other crap that they have installed. Add onto that the time it takes to connect to the internet if they have dial-up, and you're talking about some serious time, compared to the 30 seconds max it takes looking in the phone book.

Oh yeah, and if these forums are any indication, there are too many people who lack the intelligence to conduct even the simplest of searches on the internet. How they found these forums is beyond me. Seriously. There's even some moron posting a when did you join Anandtech thread - apparently too stupid to even think of looking under everyone's names in any other thread for their joined date.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I use a phonebook all the time.

 

[Twista]

Actually yesterday. To order my "Big Newyorker" from pizzahut. So thats the last time i used one.