The death of Big Yellow

My local telephone company dropped off my 2000-page business directory on my porch, and I wished they hadn't killed a tree or wasted their gas to get me what I call "Big Yellow" for my house.   Now, my wife still uses the book from time to time, but I am one of the people who uses a search engine to find everything from a plumber to a restaurant.     

Still, I wish that the search engines would make it easier for me to find things.   For some popular categories such as barbecue, the paid per clicks for that listing make me look through 10 to 20 other options before I can find the information I want.

From talking to search engine experts, I don't expect to see any changes in their tactics.   Companies like Google, Yahoo and Ask.com make a lot of money from helping businesses get the number one position in local and national searches.   I just wish that there was a way to find an alternative to the phone book with the Wayne Wright ad on the spine.