We don’t have meetings at Perkin’s or anything, however most of us have blogs where we document cases of wastefulness. We can respond to Yellow Pages’ marketers and have engaging discussions about why SO MANY unused print directories are created and distributed. (Answer: Circulation and ad sales.) It also creates a venue where phone book employees can drop in and pretend to be businesses which still thrive upon the phone book’s circulation - as seen here in the fifth comment of The Deet’s blog.

I took these photos while biking around in industrial neighborhood of Denver last weekend. Note these are THREE different books. Which means at one point a book was lying there, (or two books,) and a delivery person threw another one at the building. I admit it was probably 4am when the free lance employees were driving around in their trucks chucking out books left and right. However this building is obviously unattended with the windows darkened, doors boarded up, and weeds growing out of the concrete. I don’t think the ghosts of the former employees have any need for one phone book much less three.

Nobody is against phone books and their publishers, however we are for strict opt out lists – or at least opt out lists that are at least ATTEMPTED to be followed rather than completely ignored. Also we are for ceasing delivery at vacant houses and buildings, and stopping the practice of delivering pallets upon pallets of yellow pages to apartment buildings and office complexes.

My posts on Yellow Pages/Phone book waste.
Minneapolis blogger Ed Kohler’s articles and analysis of YP companies and waste.

So in addition to documenting the absurd quantity of waste and trash the Yellow Pages creates, I took my own little unscientific sampling the morning after the big dump.  

I live in a nine unit townhome complex.  My neighbors are mostly 30s and 40s professionals like myself, which a few older folks retired or approaching retirement, plus a few guys in their 20s renting a unit.  One of whom seems to think my flower pot is an ashtray.

Before going to work I did some scouting:

Three phone book packages were in the recycle bin, including mine thrown in just after I took this photo. 

One bag was in the dumper. 

Three were still on the doorsteps.  (One unit is vacant, so that counts as trash.)

Two must have been brought inside, because I didn’t see them out back or on the steps.

So assuming the two remaining bundles will be picked up and brought inside (like an unwanted baby at a fire station,) that still is only FOUR out of NINE homes will bring the phone book inside.  A meager 40 percent!  And I’m erring that the two remaining bundles on the doorsteps will even be brought inside. 

Over in Albany they’re consideration legislation to ban the distribution of phone books on public property, or leaving bundles of them in building lobbies and such.

Hung up on how many phone books you receive?

A hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Albany City Hall on a proposed law regulating phone-book distribution. The law proposed by Common Council member Joseph Igoe would require the books to have a toll-free number on the cover for opting out, which would mean no book delivered to your address for a year. It also would bar dropping the books on public property, in rights of way or at vacant buildings.

With all the economic turmoil and what not what business is it of a local government and stomp on private business?  Number one phone book crusader Ed Kohler and his readers agree explain multiple times that when a business fails to be a responsible member of a community, or more to the point makes its business by littering and heaving trash all over a city, that leaves little choice but for a local government to step in.

Good for Albany.  Hopefully more towns will follow suit!  When it comes time for a Denver city council meeting I’ll have every one of my blog posts, (with photos,) in hand.

Also featured in this article is a story by Minneapolis TV station KARE – about, get this – possible state legislation to reduce deliveries by the masses of publishing companies, and treat unwanted deliveries as they should treated: As trash.

If I throw something on your lawn, it is called littering. If the phone company does it, it’s called marketing.

Related posts:

The Life of a Phone Book
I Am a Termite
Phone Books, Blogs, and New Media
Dear Phone Book Publisher
More on Phone Books
Phone Book Follow Up
More Phone Book Pontification

I’m sure my regular readers are sick of weekly posts bitching about phone books, so here’s something more exciting: Another installment of Future Gringo TV. Many of my favorite bloggers are now making videos: Vinny at Insignificant Thoughts produces short commentaries voicing his opinions on culture and politics. The beautiful diabetes blogger Kerri at SixUntilMe.com is video blogging from her car. (Don’t worry she’s not living in it.) The only videos I’ve posted are of me sniffling in the chilly weather while biking around Amsterdam.

So here’s my latest short film: La Vida de Las Páginas Amarillas. (It sounds more important if its foreign.)

Although the quality is far less superior than the above bloggers, and the onset of darkness at 4pm virtually blacks out the climax, (the heaving into the recycle bin,) it still carries a strong message: Prompting advertisers to realize that many of these phone books are simply unwanted, considered unnecessary by a large demographic, and go unused.

I may recut this tomorrow afternoon, but only after hiring a professional light crew and sound person. In the meantime visit these related posts for info on opting out and reducing this wastefulness.

I Am a Termite
Phone Books, Blogs, and New Media
Dear Phone Book Publisher
More on Phone Books
Phone Book Follow Up
More Phone Book Pontification

This nonsense courtesy of YellowBook, which somehow is different than Dex, Verizon, and the many other companies that insist on leaving these worthless paperweights at your door.

I’m baffled at how this is profitable. The demographic of this neighborhood is twenties to early forties tops. I predict most of these will go straight to the recycle bin or garbage. We’ll see what day this dump truck makes it to my doorstep…

In the meantime visit Yellow Pages Goes Green to learn how you can opt out.

Related phone book articles:

I Am a Termite
Phone Books, Blogs, and New Media
Dear Phone Book Publisher
More on Phone Books
Phone Book Follow Up
More Phone Book Pontification

Like many others I use the internet or mobile device to find everything I need at home, at the office, or on the go. Case in point while in New York last week I wanted to rent a bike. I didn’t go into someone’s shop asking to borrow a ratty phone book. See photo: I typed “bike rental” and found Metro Bicycles a few blocks away. True not everyone has search and mapping functions on their mobile, but I predict such features will rapidly become standard cell phone fare, not a la carte – hammering yet another nail into the coffins filled with phone books.

Over the past year I’ve found numerous other bloggers who share my view on these paper monstrosities, and many news outlets around the country addressing consumers’ concerns. Just this week I found this article by Portland’s FOX affiliate about unwanted phone books, and a story out of Boise about a delivery worker who simply set fire to his truckload of books. Of course every industry has its enthusiasts, and to spice up discussion and counter such negative opinions various publishers of the Yellow Pages chime in on various blogs defending their distribution practices.

One blogger who has made strides in the awareness for reduced consumption and easier opt-out methods is Ed Kohler of Minneapolis blog The Deets. He’s published multiple articles on this subject and has followed the industry’s reaction to our criticisms. One issue he’s covered is why delivery people insist on leaving phone books at the doorsteps of empty or boarded up houses around the midwest when there’s ALREADY a rotting phone book on the premises. Its quite clear the house is vacant, and silly to leave another. But it still happens, and makes neighborhoods that are already down on their luck with vacant houses appear even worse. Ed and his commenters push the need for littering fines and citations for unlawful garbage disposal fines heaved on these publishers, and I completely agree.

Recently, at the Association of Directory Publishers convention in San Antonio, industry consultant Ken Clark, (who has commented on my site too,) referenced TheDeets.com and likened it and other blogs to “termites” of the print industry. According to Ed they spent an hour discussing how blogs and new media are slowly”eating away” at their reputation. Rather than viewing blogs as local community outlets for opinions and voices they dismiss them as junk science and self described authorities of research. However as Ed points out – if they spent an hour discussing it then it really says something about the collective impact of our efforts. I wrote this in my most recent post:

If the blogosphere is so irrelevant to the industry, then Ken wouldn’t have created his own blog. In addition, the questioning of phone books and their sales tactics isn’t limited to small scale local community blogs like mine. Dan Savage at Seattle’s The Stranger has taken on phone books. the Consumerist has brought up this issue. The Denver Post addressed the concern when another wallop of books hit our area, and local NBC affiliate KUSA did a story over the summer too. These aren’t bored twentysomethings sitting in their parents’ basement trying to pick on Ken. These are solid media outlets. And even if it is “citizen journalism,” these are people who’ve taken the time to craft their thoughts and articulate their views for others to read. To outright dismiss them as “half brained” dimwits doesn’t bode well for the source.

I’m proud to be called a “termite,” and great work to all termites out there. If you’d like to read my collection of phone book articles they’re listed at the bottom of this latest post. Also check out Ed’s fine articles and discussions at TheDeets.com – and my appreciation to him for making a difference in this issue.

Regarding termites of a more vile nature: On November 8th, James Dobson will be inducted into the Museum of Broadcast Communication’s Hall of Fame. While the museum claims political and social views are not a factor in deciding membership, certainly one can agree that the divisive moral fearmongering propagated by Dobson ultimately ruins many lives and families – and should at least be a factor in consideration. Note this Dobson gem from 2004:

“Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.”

Mr. Dobson fronts a political action group that masquerades as a Christian ministry. No long essay needs to be written on this ideology guided bigot. If you’d like to petition his removal, or are in the Chicago area and would like to protest, visit dumpdobson.com You may also email Radio Hall of Fame CEO Bruce Dumont directly at brucedumont@museum.tv

If you like wine, good food, and cooking good food, (and what phone booking hating gay blogger doesn’t,) check out the Denver International Food and Wine festival. From October 29th through the 1st see cooking demonstrations, sample tastings, and meet top Colorado chefs. Its at DU’s School of Hotel Restaurant and Tourism Management over on Evans.

Another great bike travel blog I read over the weekend: Teacher on Two Wheels. Andrew Morgan shares photos, stories, and logistics of his two year journey through South America and Africa where he meets with students along the way in a wonderful cultural exchange.

Ken Clark is an advocate for the Yellow Pages Industry and often engages in spirited discussions on various blogs and sites, including mine. Ken Clark has also been operating the “Yellow Pages Environmental Forum” blog in order to debunk myths regarding the phone book’s demise. On these blogs Ken whips up numbers and statistics to defend the use of phone books, and also confronts percentages and figures levied by his opponents. Stats and figures from both sides are slung around fast like cowboy lassos on the plains. My view on this issue is based on what I observe, my behavior, and what my friends, co-workers, and peers do. Proudly non-scientific.

I took a read through his site last week, and my thoughts follow below. But first let’s bring up something that hasn’t made its way into the print versus internet debate yet.

One of Ken’s arguments for the continued propagation of phone books is that not all households have access to internet, and some that do are still on dial-up. However to my knowledge no one has mentioned the proliferation of mobile devices. These devices utilize cell providers and aren’t tethered to a land or Wi-Fi connections, thus negating arguments about the user being obligated to maintain a high speed internet account.

Mobile case in point: Me. A few months back I purchased the iPhone after the 3G model was released. Among being able to now send mobile blog posts from my booth at Barracuda’s, a far more useful tool is the stand alone Google Maps feature which allows you to type in any business, view their location on a map, and locate the business closest to you based on internal GPS.

I was in Florida a few weeks back. I had a lot of driving to do and forgot my iPod car cable. From the Tampa airport I “google mapped” Radio Shack and immediately found one on Busch Blvd, in the general direction I was heading. The next day, in Ocala, I needed a Walgreens to print some color photos and buy a few picture frames. From I-75 I typed it in and located the nearest one. This took all of 10 seconds, just like in this YouTube demo. Not only did I get the nearest business on map in relation to my location, but I could also call the business with one button, or visit their website. We also found a Waffle House in Tampa, again not by rummaging through the ratty motel phone book or stopping at a gas station asking to borrow a filthy copy, rather by hitting one button, typing “Waffle House,” and immediately viewing a map with directions on my mobile.

This isn’t a plug for the iPhone. There are many devices like the Sprint Instinct and Google’s new Android which house full internet functions in the palm of your hand. Technology writer Josh Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal explains that the separation of cell phone and mobile device is rapidly diminishing. More and more cell phones have the ability to search, surf, and locate while on the go. Almost everyone of all economic background owns a cell phone, and these features are creeping in to lower and lower price points. In terms of usability its far superior to a phone book: The screens on these mobile devices are sharp and easy to read – vastly overperforming their counterparts like the Razr phone. For a business person or frequent traveler this feature becomes something wonderfully essential. Even my Asus EEE “travel PC”, pictured above next to my iPhone, is about 1/4 the width of a phone book, and about 1/10 of the weight.

About Yellow Pages Environmental Forum…

First, this blog claims to be a balanced discussion between environmentalism and the yellow pages industry; however I see the green movement mocked and dismissed in many posts. Just like statistics and figures, you can find articles written to back up any position. The list of negative content under the “Green News” category baffles me since the site says it attempts to be balanced. In fact its quite argumentative and defensive.

Second, I’m a bit dismayed at Ken’s discounting of blogs as “half a brain” kid stuff activities.

You’ve seen them — bloggers who by virtue of the fact that they have a keyboard, an Internet connection, and half a brain can start spewing all kinds of inaccuracies across hyperspace.

In this post he quotes my article from March of this year discussing opt-outs. My post is also incorrectly linked and my words referenced to an spam aggregator site that ripped off my content.

If the blogosphere is so irrelevant to the industry, then Ken wouldn’t have created his own blog. In addition, the questioning of phone books and their sales tactics isn’t limited to small scale local community blogs like mine. Dan Savage at Seattle’s The Stranger has taken on phone books. the Consumerist has brought up this issue. The Denver Post addressed the concern when another wallop of books hit our area, and local NBC affiliate KUSA did a story over the summer too. These aren’t bored twentysomethings sitting in their parents’ basement trying to pick on Ken. These are solid media outlets. And even if it is “citizen journalism,” these are people who’ve taken the time to craft their thoughts and articulate their views for others to read. To outright dismiss them as “half brained” dimwits doesn’t bode well for the source.

Third, an item on the YP Green blog that I question is the correlation between the size of an ad versus the reputation of the company. Ken seems to think that a company willing to place a half page ad in a yellow book will separate it from the “fly by night” companies:

When you use a book you also get a quick visual indication (subjective as it is) about the viability of the business you are looking at – those print ads aren’t free and if that company has bought a half page ad this is probably not some fly-by-night, Johnny come lately company

I disagree. Take moving companies for example. They’re among the worst industries for customer abuse, and occupy some of the largest real estate in local phone books. If ABC Moving changed hands over the summer and service has been dodgy, I’m not going to find out about that via their full page ad. However if I do a local Google search for movers and find a history of crummy service I’ll know to avoid them. Consumer reviews, whether published on large sites like Angie’s List, or a sole rant on a blog, level the playing field for the consumer and make huge impacts on the decision making process. Running a search for positive or negative reviews is a key component. Even Dwight Schrute agrees that Trip Advisor is key to maintaining his Bed and Breakfast’s reputation. You won’t find up to date concerns about Schrute Farms in your yellow pages.

Lastly, Ken Clark’s assertion that young people refuse to use media unless its online or digital is incorrect, or at least in my case. I occasionally leaf through a discarded newspaper while riding the bus. At times grab a copy of La Voz while waiting for the train station para practicar mi español. And, when I travel, I always carry a good paperback from my local used bookstore with me, which I pass along to others upon finishing. How’s that for paying the print forward? My non-stop deliveries of the yellow pages however will still wind up in the recycle bin. A futile production.

Related posts:

Dear Phone Book Publisher
More on Phone Books
Phone Book Follow Up
More Phone Book Pontification

A ridiculously large percentage of phone books that are DELIVERED wind up in the garbage. Its wasteful plain and simple, and the only reason they’re given out like candy on Halloween is to trump up circulation numbers for advertising rates.

Last year Yellow Pages industry head Ken Clark commented on my frustration, and in March some good folks gave info on how to opt-out in this post. The high profile site The Consumerist also ran an opt-out story earlier this month with some good ensuing discussion.

By the way I only really get inspired to bitch about phone books when an inky yellow dinosaur arrives my doorstep. So why is it this happening over FIVE TIMES A YEAR? This delivery thanks to Verizon, who I didn’t even know served our market. (I thought it was Qwest.)

Some phone book industry advocates like Ken Clark have touted how easy and convenient these are to recycle. (This is irrelevant. It’s still wasteful.) So today I’d like to debunk the “easy to recycle” statement: This morning’s phone book by Verizon arrived entombed in a tight clear plastic covering, inside of a loose plastic bag. (More waste.) So before heaving it into the paper recycling bin you need to remove it from the bag, and then peel off the tight plastic wrap. Ladies don’t break a nail.

Also stuck to the front of the book was a refrigerator magnet for an urgent care center. This can’t go into paper recycling. Nit-picking? Yes. But its still work to be done, and you probably just want to go to work right?

Also consider many individuals and families just don’t recycle. So while its not the green thing to do, some just pitch the whole mess, magnet and all, into the trash.

In November I wrote about the frustrations of having useless fax machine size yellow dinosaurs constantly dropped off at my door. I wrote about it in November of ’06 too.

Most readers agreed that these are about as relevant as an eight track player.  I also found another story about RETURNING phone books, (not just recycling them,) that was done up in Seattle by alternative weekly “The Stranger.”

From my original post:

Anywhere a phone exists there’s most likely internet access or WiFi, making your product obsolete. Even in my office at work I don’t see phone books in cubicles or workstations anymore. They’re as useful and as relevant as cassette tape answering machines, VCRs, and Blockbuster Video. 

Stop publishing these. It’s a waste of paper, and a waste of the plastic used to wrap them in. (Actually those make decent dog poop bags.) Also the only revenue these bring in – which is advertising, is sold under false pretenses. Just like magazines, phone book publishers base ad rates on circulation. So my handling of this book for five seconds between lifting it up, walking it to and heaving it into the recycle bin counts as an impression and/or user. Yeah right.

This prompted a passionate copied and pasted response from “Yellow Pages Industry” leader Ken Clark:

The other myth is that the Internet is all we need. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the broadband market is about tapped out. There will always be a good percentage of the population that will never have access to the industry’s Internet products. Barely more than 50% of households in the U.S. (about 56 million homes), currently subscribe to a high-speed Internet service. An additional 21 million households still use dial-up connections (yes, you read that right dial-up connections).

This week 9News/KUSA ran a story on cumbersome phone books, where to recycle them, and most importantly how to opt out:

Call 1-877-243-8339 to opt-out of receiving DEX phone books. Call 1-800-929-3556 to opt-out of receiving Yellow Book directories. If you want to opt-out of the Verizon phone book, you can call 800-555-4833.

The catch however?   You MUST provide your phone number, so they can call you back next year to make sure you still hate phone books.   Well at least its a start.  I’d still rather drop them off at Ken Clark’s house.

Story and video from KUSA.

The bang was so loud I nearly crapped my pants. More than a foot thick and tucked in a bag destined to live forever in a landfill, our new Dex phone books—all three of them!—landed on our porch shortly before dawn on a sunny summer morning.

It had been ages since I cracked open a phone book. Why would anyone use a phone book when Google can locate any number you need in .28 seconds or less?

This review prompted the same boilerplate response by Ken Clark as he posted yesterday morning on my site.  

Their solution to the phone book annoyance?  Return them.  As pictured left Dan Savage’s crew heaved pound upon pound of unwanted Dex phone books at their company doorstep. 

Now that we have our truckload here in Denver let’s do the same.  I’m ready.

Also – I never got an answer from Ken Clark on whether or not the “immediate disposal” factor is taken into consideration when hyping circulation numbers.   How can you honestly say you have “X” number of circulation – when as shown by Dan Savage, myself, and probably countless others who don’t waste time blogging about it –  that a substantial percentage of these books make a beeline for the dumpster without one page being opened.

If phone books were actually useful and relevant we would have “One Phone Book per Child,”  and not “One Laptop per Child.”

Meanwhile if you are interested in how phone book publishers, sellers, and marketers are desperately attempting to put food on their family visit YPtalk.com  The “voice” of the yellow pages industry, (ironically on the web,)  where you can read for yourself the obvious hilarity in such matters such as:

Why do customers cancel their advertising??? As sales people, we are competing with everyone who comes into that business selling something. We all know the advantages of Yellow Pages advertising. How can some customers not see the value of the product and want to cancel ads or even their whole program?

Why are you still around? I considered this question last year when you left this dinosaur at my doorstop. I haven’t used a phone book since the 90s, and suspect many have dismissed them as well. Who would choose to page through this inky yellow mess when you can find a phone number, address, or business in seconds using Google or any other search variant – national or local. On the road? There’s Google Text, Google 411, and many others.

Point being anywhere a phone exists there’s most likely internet access or WiFi, making your product obsolete. Even in my office at work I don’t see phone books in cubicles or workstations anymore. They’re as useful and as relevant as cassette tape answering machines, VCRs, and Blockbuster Video.

Stop publishing these. It’s a waste of paper, and a waste of the plastic used to wrap them in. (Actually those make decent dog poop bags.) Also the only revenue these bring in – which is advertising, is sold under false pretenses. Just like magazines, phone book publishers base ad rates on circulation. So my handling of this book for five seconds between lifting it up, walking it to and heaving it into the recycle bin counts as an impression and/or user. Yeah right.

As with 90% of everything else I comment on I’m certainly no expert. So if you work for Dex, sell phone book ad space, or sell any other product that nobody uses – please comment and let me know how you’re able to put food on your family. I’m honestly curious.

Meanwhile if you’re not building a time capsule here is where to recycle your phone book. James Van Dellen