If you want an example of how quickly the world can change, consider the Yellow Pages.
Up until the early 2000s, the Yellow Pages was the place to look when searching for a business. Businesses were listed alphabetically by category, and the Brisbane Yellow Pages consisted of 2 books, with up to 1500 pages in each. As well as the standard listing, business could place an advertisement of various sizes to draw greater attention and give more details of their products.
The iconic “Not happy Jan” advertisement from the early 2000s highlighted the importance of a business to get their advertisement into the Yellow Pages on time. It was printed annually, so missing out made your business invisible for a year.
As the internet became more popular, Yellow Pages online was developed, but early search engines began to erode the Yellow Pages market. The emergence of Google eroded the market further, but a desk computer was still required to perform the search.
When smart phones were introduced and became a normal item for most of the population, the fate of the Yellow Pages was set. It was now easy to search for any business and any product via Google on your smartphone.
Yellow Pages online continues, although it is uncertain how many people would still use it unless drawn to it by a Google search.
