Saturday, May 8, 2010

Goodbye, White Pages?

The New York Times reports that the White Pages may be on their way out in New York City:

When residential directories were delivered this year to the Ivy Tower, an apartment building on West 43rd Street in Manhattan, Ramon Almanzar, a concierge, kept 28 copies in case residents wanted them. Not a single occupant of the 320-unit building claimed one, Mr. Almanzar said.

“We end up throwing them away,” he said, as he greeted residents and opened a glass door. “Everyone goes online anyways.”

Customers who prefer to look up phone numbers the old-fashioned way or, like Steve Martin’s character in The Jerk, get a thrill from seeing their names in print, would still be able to have the White Pages delivered to them in book form or on compact disc.
Read more:

White Pages May Go Way of Rotary-Dialed Phone (New York Times)

comments: 3

Chris Albertson said...

The phone company charged extra if you wanted to be unlisted. That never made sense to me, so I did the next best thing and had myself listed as Fred Nurdley. He was a PR man, a character I invented for a 1960s radio series. A good friend, singer Tasha Thomas, loved the idea, so she listed herself as Freda Nurdley.

We were the only Nurdley's in the Manhattan white pages.

I miss Tasha, but I won't miss those phone books.

Michael Leddy said...

What a great story, Chris. I had to Google, and it looks as if you’re still the one Fred Nurdley.

Daniel Edlen said...

I've fallen in love with GOOGL. Using a short code is so easy and handy and convenient and everything the printed pages weren't. Not to say I wouldn't love having one copy to put in a plexiglass box to remember them by. :)