I’m a huge fan of print publications; that’s why I am in the editorial department. But is print the right way to go for everything?
Maybe not.

Take the Yellow Pages.  When I get home and find the third or fourth Yellow Pages phone book of the year on my doorstep, I can think of only one option for the book: toss it. Although some people like to use them as doorstops or kindling, I think about how it’s going straight into my recycling bin without me even flipping through it.

Why is it going there? Well, the answer is the same as most people’s: I have the Internet. I can look up anything on the Internet (even on the Yellow Pages website) and Internet searches are usually quicker than flipping through the print version. It just makes sense not to waste space in homes and use defenseless trees on these books.

Finally, Yellow Pages has caught on. It is now allowing customers to opt out of receiving the directories altogether. The news came out yesterday, and the Yellow Pages website has been so jam-packed that I kept getting a “server too busy” message when I tried to get through. At last, I was able to opt out of Yellow Pages’ services, and I felt like I did a little part in saving some trees when I clicked “confirm.”

Are you going to keep your phone books coming? Or do you like to have them at home?