Don't know how I missed this yesterday and is was on one of my favorite blogs, The Consumerist. It discusses attempts by some local governments to allow their residents to opt out of receiving phone books and the difficulties that previous governments have had in passing such laws.
It really seems like allowing people to opt out shouldnt negatively impact business much if advertisers are looking at their ads based on performance instead of on circulation. In fact, it could reduce costs for yellow pages companies (though it would require them to keep a database of who has opted in/out). However, there may be more impact than we would think.
Are there a lot of people who would opt out but end up keeping the phone books they are delivered and using them? I have heard the argument that phone books have the benefit of being able to find things faster than you can online and perhaps, if a pipe has burst or you have to do something really quickly, where you aren't familiar with a vendor, people still grab for Old Faithful. In any case, if you look at the comments on this article (which is read by some of the more tech-savvy people around) there is still a fair amount of support for the books, and people still see value in them.
Phone Books: Should Consumers Be Able To Opt-Out Of Phone Book Deliveries?
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