"...people use search engines anyway, so who cares what the domain name is?"
Throwing the baby out with the bath water, are we?
I can assure you that Direct Navigation is a very real and powerful force in the domain world.

Predicting the future by ones habits is illogical. If I hate ice cream then everyone hates ice cream. If I don't use the YP then it must be dying, wrong.YP usage is still holding its own. The web may one day rule but it still has concerns. It COSTS money to use, it's subject to virus attacks, not everyone is connected, quality local content is lacking, the eye can scan more data faster with YP format than web screens, YP are free and do not require electricity. Scenario; storm comes in, power goes out, basement filling with water........you better keep those books handy!

Like you, the Yellow Pages have sat in the same spot since the delivery person dropped them off. But I'm not tempted to dump them... yet.

I can go months without using the YP. But despite my affection for google maps ("find pizza near...") and online community resources (such as yelp.com), there are times that the information a YP ad gives me is just enough.

Part of that, I think, is that there's an established structure to a print ad: at least the company name, address, phone number. Most of the print ads are done with the help of a sales consultant who may lack true marketing skills but at least can help a small business owner fill in the expected blanks: your hours? a rough map of your location? and so on.

Sure, a company web site can have a lot more information (my dentist's, for example, shares before-and-after photos, and explains their holistic philosophy). But it's amazing how many web sites don't answer my questions. Case in point: my doctor's office site doesn't have their fax number, and I needed to send in a form.

When I need to choose a professional for which I should reasonably get multiple bids (a new RV gate -- can you believe how much those cost?! -- or a pool service), it's actually far faster to yank out the YP and call three reputable-seeming companies at once. It's far better than filling in some web form and waiting for them to call me back, that's for sure.

Hi Guys,

I hear your comments. A lot of those thoughts went through my own mind as I arrived at my decision to do what I did. And I still stand by my reasoning.

Things change and that's how innovation, progress, etc. all happen. At this very moment two world powers are rapidly raising their standards of living - India and China. Between them they have about 2.5 billion people (USA has about 303 million); how are all these people going to get their own thick paper copies of the Yellow Pages? And there are another 2 billion or more people living in other countries in Africa, Asia and Middle East who also what to raise their standards of living.

Are there enough forests in the world to give all these people their own printed paper Yellow Pages? And then keep giving them new copies every year? Is this really the best use of our forests and other resources given all the things we need to be doing?

Necessity is the mother of invention... We're inventing new ways for people to find products and services and contact companies they want to do business with. And the fading away of icons does evoke strong feelings. As Mark Twain said, "I'm all for progress; it's change I don't like."