White Pages go Dark

Centurylink has asked for and received an exemption from the MN public utilities commission so they no longer need to print and distribute a white pages phone book.    The PUC voted unanimously to allow them, and soon other phone providers, to skip the process that generally ends at the recycling bin.  The reasons are pretty simple; first off the rise of online directories makes the white pages unneeded.  But more importantly, the land line business is also going the way of the dinosaur.  40% of American homes don’t have one, and since cell phones are not listed in the white pages, which means you can’t find any info on 40% of folks you may be trying to reach.

Why is that important to you as a business trying to find customers?  It just shows the pervasive nature of our mobile culture.  A new study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project finds that for the first time, a majority of American adults, 56 percent,  own smartphones. 35% have mobile phones that aren't smartphones, with 9 percent owning no cell phone at all.  Now what do you think? I think that I would like to make sure any banner ads I run have a mobile component to them and that my website has a mobile compliant version there for my customers looking for me that way.  The trend will not reverse.  Mobile bandwidth is the currency of many communications companies and it gets more valuable every day.  Get on board or stay at the station.  But you won’t be able to call anyone to come get you; they took out the pay phones years ago.