Do You Still Use a Phone Book?

35 Comments

  • Karen - 13 years ago

    Um- I agree that phone books are fading however, we are all replying on our computers. There are still a generation of people not responding to this poll and, using their phone books.

  • Karen R Sternberg - 14 years ago

    This survey needs a category that says, "yes, from time to time" because my answer is exactly that.

    To pair "yes" with "frequently" feels rather like putting words in my mouth.

    Shouldn't this really be TWO questions: (1) do you use .... (2) How often ...?

    Rather more honest & less skewed; feels less deceptive.

  • Linda Glantz - 14 years ago

    Yes, yes, yes...I use the phone book. Sorry but some of us senior citizens do not have the resources to learning all of the new technology gadgets nor the money for toys.

  • Jordan - 14 years ago

    I dont use the phonebook in paper form, however you can go to realpageslive.com and view any phonebook from AT&T in .pdf form. It's actually rather intuitive. A friend of mine told me about it. yp.com is also pretty good. Google is where I do most of my searching but for local stuff I agree SE's arent rooted in local. As far as wasting trees, directories are printed on recycled paper. Its not like they're cutting Oak and Dogwoods down. Its pine trees that are grown just for the purpose of making paper. That like saying KFC is killing chickens. Well those chickens are mass produced specifically for the demand of chicken eating persons. Extra crispy please

  • Suma - 14 years ago

    Yes ++

  • Hom - 14 years ago

    NoOOO

  • Wow - 14 years ago

    I think too

  • Yui - 14 years ago

    Yes!!!

  • Hi5 - 14 years ago

    I have Choice 3

  • GiSon - 14 years ago

    OH GOOD

  • Will - 14 years ago

    This poll is invalid because the participants are all people who are currently using the internet. Only a phone or mail based poll would satisfy this question. Does anyone know of any?

  • Dave K - 14 years ago

    I've faced this issue for my businesses, when trying to decide if i should purchase a YP ad or not. It gets quite expensive, then you have to deal with the high pressure sales while they try to sell you on some internet ad campaign. Since that's my field I can take care of that myself, thank you very much but others get sucked into it... My clients ask me the same questions and its difficult to give them a yes or no answer, especially taking into consideration the issues explained by BAF above. I've got business associates and friends that have removed their ads from the YP's and promptly bought ads the next year because of a decrease in calls. Others have been fine with out a YP ad...

  • Nick Balmanno - 15 years ago

    I Use Them LIke When I am Calling For Pizza

  • jaypug - 15 years ago

    I don't even subscribe to ma bell for phone service and I still can't get them to stop leaving this trash on my lawn.....:(
    Ma Bell you have no moral compass.
    Trashing the environment and killing trees.

  • Chad - 15 years ago

    Wow! Nearly 25% of Gizmodo readers (typical tech savvy) put "yes" in some form. The phone book market may not be dwindling as fast as I thought.

  • John - 15 years ago

    I've pondered this question every time I come home to find a fresh dumpster filler waiting outside of my door. To me, it's just wasteful and a sad example of status quo. Perhaps phone books should be available to those who are 65yo and older, but seriously, who else really needs this any longer?

  • robinite - 15 years ago

    I can use my computer to look stuff up. If the cable internet is out, then I can use 3G or Edge on my phone. If THAT's not working, then ordering a pizza is the least of my worries...

  • BAF - 15 years ago

    Perception is ahead of reality as far as the web vs. phone directories. Google & Yahoo have still not effectively gathered all the local information in communities. While it makes seems to make since to assume you can find everything on the web try searching for a LOCAL pizza place, dry cleaner, auto repair shop online thru the major search engines...in a vast majority of cities, the content is just not there. Local phone books and IYP's still provide the most complete and accurate local information.

  • Josh - 15 years ago

    I don't know about where you live, but here, in Florida, they sometimes send out a CD with the yellow pages on searchable PDF. If you don't get it directly at your house, you can call and request one, or, I believe, go online to request one. I don't know if you can download the same thing off their site, though...

  • dae - 15 years ago

    "The web still does a relatively poor job of local search." This is very true. But why don't they just create a PDF version???

  • Justin Ketah - 15 years ago

    I see the need for some sort of directory for when you dont have internet access. I would still have my laptop available though. I might not always have internet or the power might be out or whatever but I really hate using the internet on my cell to get a number. Oh and forget about 411 its over $1.75 each time I use it. I would just like to have a downloaded copy of the phone book that updates over the internet. I dont think the phone book will completely go away since some people "Senior Citizens" still need them, atleast for now. The Seattle P-I went under a week ago and its for the same reason the phone book companies will be. Advertising has moved to places that work better for them. Classifieds are now "Craigslist", full page color ads are now "Popups", and Yellow Pages are becoming webpages you can find with a simple Google search. What will the phone book companies evolve into?

  • gloopax - 15 years ago

    I would rather use a phone book most of the time. In Canada I have to navigate around all sorts of ads. I appreciate reverse listings, but sometimes it just isn't intuitive. I know it is only going to get easier in the short term on the web, but soon I expect economics will justify 10 pop ups to those who pay the most. Yellow pages are necessary to keep the web honest. i still want a choice-and what about when the power is down (my phone still works) but my internet may not.

  • ursen - 15 years ago

    Again a misleading vote. Said yes, but only for local do I need one. And to take with me if I need it out.

  • jason mcglone - 15 years ago

    I ONLY use mine to help start fires. What's even cooler, I get more kindling every single year! Thanks, directory companies!

  • JAE - 15 years ago

    i only ever use one at work, where the "internet" is only the company's website.

  • Pat - 15 years ago

    i use two phone books under my monitors to bring them up to eye level

  • SouthPaw - 15 years ago

    I and many people in town throw the phone book on the Verizon lawn.

  • Paul - 15 years ago

    I use them as toys for my bunnies. They love to tear them apart and eat them. If you open one on the floor, they also love to dig through the layers. Gets messy though.

  • Ron - 15 years ago

    I've wondered this same question myself. I use the internet for nearly everything. A couple of years ago I used a phone book to call about replacing a broken car window, however, now I just use yelp.

    The only thing I can't find is a place to get my car detailed. Yelp has only a few listings and by no means all the different detailers there are to choose from.

    I live in Oakland, CA and there are several households that don't have the money for a computer or internet, so I'm guessing the phone book has transitioned to a marketing book for the poor.

  • Gwenny - 15 years ago

    I voted no but it's not TOTALLY true. I use three to prop up my monitor to eye level.

  • Paul - 15 years ago

    The web still does a relatively poor job of local search, even with all the recent start-up aimed at that market. The yellow pages still work for a dwindling, yet still important, number of occasions. And, it's worth keeping a copy in the car. But the white pages? Irrelevant. Of course, my Mom would be shocked to know that her phone number is accessible over the Internet.

  • Rachel - 15 years ago

    Most of the people who use phone books are the ones that tend not to use the internet. I have friends who only have access at the library.

  • james - 15 years ago

    Did you know advertising in a phonebook can be as much as $10,000/month?

    wtf.

    Although, if you need a good plumber, I guess I would trust the ones who have a three-page color ad.

  • Mwald - 15 years ago

    I work in a business that uses the phonebook for advertising, it cost 45000 for a quarter page in washington DC, The internet cost around 10,000 for the year and we get do not get any customers from the book anymore. WTF

  • cestes - 15 years ago

    But phone books are cool for tearing in half. It's really easy once you know the technique. It makes a great party trick and gives the impression you're a tough guy!

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