Can't Find Old Friends the Old Fashioned Way Any Longer

[Dibbons]

Those online internet search engines only have listed obsolete or disconnected phone numbers whenever I try to connect with old friends. Maybe not news to most, but today I found even "directory assistance 411" has been discontinued. Can't stop "progress". (But if anyone lives in Lynden, Washington, sent me a message please lol).

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/07/business/telephone-operators-411-att-ctpr/index.html#:~:text=Starting in January, AT&T customers,access operators and directory help.

The end of an era: Whatever happened to the phone book?

 

[Richard Cranium]

For years, I spent $900.00 a month for my 1/4 page business yellow page ad. When I hired a website designer & had them put it on a google search, the yearly advertising cost was a fraction of one month's yellow page bill.

 

[hdwrench]

For years, I spent $900.00 a month for my 1/4 page business yellow page ad. When I hired a website designer & had them put it on a google search, the yearly advertising cost was a fraction of one month's yellow page bill.

yellow pages was all ways expensive and i think a bit of a rip off ….but years ago there weren’t many ways to advertise economically ….

 

[kiwigtx]

For years, I spent $900.00 a month for my 1/4 page business yellow page ad. When I hired a website designer & had them put it on a google search, the yearly advertising cost was a fraction of one month's yellow page bill.

I had a Yellow Pages advert for a couple of years....found out pretty fast that it wasn't making any difference to my in-coming work.

Word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising.

 

[Ron H]

I had a Yellow Pages advert for a couple of years....found out pretty fast that it wasn't making any difference to my in-coming work.

Word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising.

When I started my biz in 2000, got a website set up, advertised in trade magazines, mailed out flyers, etc. YP’s were already going down back then so nixed an ad in there. Results? About none. Over 20 years with my webpage, I’d say I got around a dozen contracts. Depending on ALL a this would have ended my biz in a year or so.

My good luck was akin to the saying “It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know”. There were three old business acquaintances I got to know and worked with over the years, one was a good friend. It was all about THEM retaining me for some work and then THEM spreading their word gaining me more biz. Yep, word of mouth-referrals was it – ALL of it.

 

[RemCharger]

Repeat n Referrals for the win.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I had a Yellow Pages advert for a couple of years....found out pretty fast that it wasn't making any difference to my in-coming work.

Word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising.

That, and repeat business.

 

[DeltaV]

 

[dadsbee]

 

[Ron H]

Got leery of phone books when I saw a movie with a couple of mafia guys beating the daylights out of a poor guy using phone books – didn’t want those in my house after that..

 

[Budnicks]

I had a Yellow Pages advert for a couple of years....found out pretty fast that it wasn't making any difference to my in-coming work.

Word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising.

& Have your business name start with an A, be 1st
My Golf business, the Yellow Pages was necessary expense
otherwise the only people who knew about my business
were locals of the country club (1,000 or so members) or
if they drove into the lil' strip mall shopping center in Rancho Murieta
& saw my sign...
It was a bit away from Hwy 16, to see it...
It was in the 90's infancy of the -www- ,
got listing on the Web with that advertising $$$s thru the Ma/Pa Bell too...
AT&T or then SBC Global sucks donkey ***...

My construction/facility management co.
I never did advertise at all
not my 1st Framing, then Plumbing, then bathrooms & kitchen,
not my last, commercial properties
they are a whole lot less hassle than homeowners are
all word of mouth or me going out & selling myself...

Today I don't think I would do Yellow Pages or even White pages...
I hate AT&T too...

 

[kiwigtx]

Got leery of phone books when I saw a movie with a couple of mafia guys beating the daylights out of a poor guy using phone books – didn’t want those in my house after that..

.....I got rid of all our baseball bats for the same reason... I have to remember to get rid of that granddaddy salmon in the freezer now....

 

[kiwigtx]

& Have your business name start with an A, be 1st

That's why there are so many companies called "Aardvark......."

 

[DeltaV]

AAR Cuda comes first

 

[DeltaV]

 

[DeltaV]

Those online internet search engines only have listed obsolete or disconnected phone numbers whenever I try to connect with old friends. Maybe not news to most, but today I found even "directory assistance 411" has been discontinued. Can't stop "progress". (But if anyone lives in Lynden, Washington, sent me a message please lol).

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/07/business/telephone-operators-411-att-ctpr/index.html#:~:text=Starting in January, AT&T customers,access operators and directory help.

The end of an era: Whatever happened to the phone book?

Do you really want to find old friends? People grow apart over the years and sometimes "life" hasn't treated them well for one reason or another. Sometimes they took a different path after you last saw them and that can be a bad thing.

Anyway, you might find some of your old friends on classmates.com directly or indirectly.

 

[Dibbons]

Just had a 50 year high school reunion (but missed it when Hurricane Norma closed the airport). Got me thinking about old friends and neighbors and then decided to see what was possible searching out people from home. I guess I'm a little bored. No one looking for me obviously (lol).

 

[68BabyBlue]

Do you really want to find old friends? People grow apart over the years and sometimes "life" hasn't treated them well for one reason or another. Sometimes they took a different path after you last saw them and that can be a bad thing.

Anyway, you might find some of your old friends on classmates.com directly or indirectly.

I had a hit on classmates last year, from a guy who I was friends with from kindergarten through college. We had reconnected back in 1996 when I was in San Diego for a conference, but lost touch after he got married and started a family in his 40s. He was kind of a goof in his younger days, but got his act together, built and retired from a successful business, married a beautiful, brilliant woman, and had two terrific kids. He never attended a high school reunion. Really glad we got together again, sometimes this stuff works out. Most others from back then, I'm glad they aren't in my current orbit.

 

[Ron H]

Do you really want to find old friends? People grow apart over the years and sometimes "life" hasn't treated them well for one reason or another. Sometimes they took a different path after you last saw them and that can be a bad thing.

Anyway, you might find some of your old friends on classmates.com directly or indirectly.

Yes, it was awkward meeting some old friends from HS at our 50th reunion last summer. Almost seems easier to meet new ones..

 

[Davefinan]

View attachment 1553135

Is this the number of the person to which I am calling…..