Week 11 (#1): Bye Bye Yellow Pages

 

The Yellow Pages are yet another casualty of the digital age, with AT&T announcing its plans to sell its Yellow Pages business to Cerberus Capital Management. The business has been struggling for years since up-to-date listings became just a click away and easily accessible on the internet. Although the Yellow Pages directories go out to about 150 million homes and businesses in 22 states, they are more likely viewed as junk mail and being thrown away than as a valuable aid. AT&T attempted to stay on top of the digital age by launching YP.com but had limited success, taking a $2.9 billion write-down in 2011. Cerberus plans to put a fresh and modern spin on the business with AT&T maintaining a significant stake in the new venture.

I believe it was just a matter of time before the hard-copy Yellow Pages became extinct; after all, even novels and textbooks are being converted into digital copies viewable on tablets and e-readers. Why would any household want to maintain the burden of enormous, cumbersome phonebooks when there are more convenient alternatives to obtain phone numbers and addresses?

Source:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/09/technology/ATT-sells-yellow-pages/index.htm