It’s Time To Stop This Outdated Method
30 November 2008 10:06 PM | By Prince Of Petworth in quality of life
Maybe if they came with an icepick they’d be more useful. Nope. No one uses blocks of ice anymore either. This has got to be the biggest waste of paper since I attended college. Hell they can keep delivering them once every couple of years but I’m nearly certain I receive these useless phone books twice a year. Any predictions on when they’ll stop delivering these useless door stops? Or is the telephone book industry as powerful as I’m beginning to suspect they are…
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30 November 2008 10:18 PM | Mr. T in DC Said:
I hate them, too. It’s like a massive, well-organized littering campaign, where the phone company leave a useless hunk of paper on your doorstep. They get wet, and sit there forever.
30 November 2008 10:21 PM | cupcake Said:
Remember that there are still alot of seniors and lower income folks in our community who don’t own computers and can’t afford the $1.25 per information call.
30 November 2008 10:23 PM | Prince Of Petworth Said:
I hear you cupcake but I still think delivery once a year or once every other year should be enough.
30 November 2008 11:43 PM | Christina Said:
Maybe if they delivered the phone books free to central locations (libraries? Grocery stores?) Then all the seniors, lower-income folks and anyone else who wants one could get one. All the rest of us who think they’re useless trash could leave them alone. Everyone wins.
01 December 2008 12:44 AM | vonstallin Said:
Im glad they are small now at least..
01 December 2008 9:22 AM | ro Said:
mine go right into the garbage every time
01 December 2008 9:35 AM | Adams Morgan Said:
They delivered then in my neighborhood on Thanksgiving day where most sat outside until Sunday as an open invitation to burglars…
01 December 2008 9:58 AM | Just J Said:
FYI, they are not owned by the “phone company” anymore. Its now owned be a spinooff called Idearc media. If you check their stock price they are in the dumps. I wouldnt be surprised if they go out of business in the next couple of years.
01 December 2008 10:19 AM | DCDireWolf Said:
I actually use the phone book, I find it easier sometimes than going online. However, I do think once a year is quite enough.
01 December 2008 10:29 AM | Anonymous Said:
ro – please don’t throw the phone books in the garbage – they can be recycled! THANKS!
01 December 2008 12:27 PM | Anonymous Said:
These phone books are a pet peeve of mine too. My husband still thinks of them as useful; I see them as some trash that needs to go straight to the recycling bin. I can’t remember the last time I opened a phone book to look up something.
01 December 2008 12:41 PM | Perry Said:
I don’t use a phone book anymore either, but it seems to me that getting opinions on phone books in an online forum does sway the results a bit. After all, collectively we probably conduct more of our life and business online. This still ain’t so for many.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 75% of adults use the Internet, which is very high, of course. But among those making less than $30K, it’s only 56%, and only 38% of those with less than a high school diploma get online.
Perhaps a better option would be to let folks opt-in/opt-out on receiving a phone book. Of course, that would create more work for those distributing them, since they’d have to pay attention and not just throw them on every front porch, but it would save a ton — literally — of paper and resources.
01 December 2008 2:45 PM | Bonnie Said:
Whynot just make them available to those who request them?
01 December 2008 2:49 PM | Christina Said:
You’re right — asking questions about phone books on a forum like this is like asking “how many of us are computer literate?”
Still, if phone books were still so valued by those of us who are not computer nerds, why do I usually see them sitting out day and night until they’re soaked and then all you can do with them is toss them?
These people aren’t distributing phone books as a public service to the poor — this isn’t much different from someone sticking a menu for a Chinese restaurant in your door. It’s just a big, thick, yellow, block of ads. They distribute them so widely so they can maintain high ad rates.
Opting in and out might be difficult. I still think that distributing phone books like we distribute IRS forms could work out. For some of us, it’s easy to print out the forms. For others, they can go to the library or post office to get a paper copy. If a phone book is something you really feel you need, that shouldn’t be that troublesome to do. Deliver a stack of them to some central locations, leave them there for a couple of weeks, collect and dispose of the unused copies. Done.
01 December 2008 9:26 PM | saf Said:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/19711 There, that’s how to stop phone book delivery.
01 December 2008 9:49 PM | Anonymous Said:
Ever since we became a cell phone only home we have been phone book free. As more homes go that way, what will become of phone books?
An interesting option is digital phone books. I used to work for a company that put phone books on CDs for various cities. While it won’t help the non-computer literate section of the population, it saves resources, is easier to search and less expensive to produce.
02 December 2008 3:46 PM | 14th & You Said:
According to the Earth911 website, phone books account for 660k tons of landfill waste per year. However, they will be published for just as long as there is advertising revenue to be had for this type of print media.