How long before there are no more Yellowpages, Yellowbooks, Superpages, etc.?

Ironically these directories were actually innovative at one time - they represented the first iteration of Google. But like many companies, they failed to innovate at the most critical periods of time. Rather than quickly embrace the Internet (and then mobile) as an innovator and inventor, they simply reacted. And they reacted too late. These guys were the local search experts but they didn't understand what business they were really in.

There is an odd kind of arrogance that exists in the hallways of companies like these. A complacency that comes about as a result of wearing blinders - protected from the real world by management teams that are not incentivized to have real vision or to be innovators. When you assess any kind of company, always look at how the people get paid. That will tell you a great deal about why innovation is or is not happening. Usually, if you hit the sales numbers the future will take care of itself, right? Wrong.

Think about the Yellowbooks of the world - they feel like their customer base is strong, because every person in America receives their product (whether they want it or not). And there's the rub - they actually think that consumers are their customers! They forget that the real customer is the advertiser. And, the advertising space in those yellow books is becoming less valuable by the second. Further, states like Colorado are considering passing laws that will permit consumers from "opting-out" of receiving the antiquated and wasteful books. So, the Yellows better be very afraid. Consumers don't want their product and advertisers understand that there are better places to spend their money (and it is not with the "Internet version" of the Yellows).

Of course all this sucks. I, for one, would love to see a resurgence of the dinosaurs - that is the re-birth of companies that actually were once pioneers in their field, like the Yellows. But it won't happen until they change the people that run those companies. Unfortunately these firms have not demonstrated that they can embrace disruptive ideas from people with vision. So, they will slowly burn away, perhaps making a few desperate acquisitions on the way out.

The message to those businesses that still advertise with the Yellows: Let your ads do the walking right off the page and on to another company's expanding digital platforms. The message to the Yellows: Start fighting like hell - look outside your company hallways for answers and take a stand.

So many lessons to be learned here...