Yellow Page Cancellation Opt-Out Service On The Rise

Whenever someone talks about buying a stock, one of the primary risks facing an investor is the potential for technological obsolescence. After all, Eastman-Kodak was once the most powerful name in the photo business, racking up millions of dollars in profits. Rapid technology increases has significantly disrupted the company's business model, and these technological forces have reduced Kodak to a pale shell of its former self. Whenever a company faces industry headwinds, people often joke of the business going the way of the 'horse and buggy business.' Whenever you're thinking about a business, you should immediately think about how vulnerable the company is to technology. For instance, it would be much easier for technology increases to bring down a printing business than it would, say, a beverage company. If you had to guess between McGraw-Hill and Coca-Cola which business model would still be intact in a hundred years, I know I would put my money on the latter.

Chris Morran at The Consumerist has written a great article about the decaying yellow and white book industry, noting the sharp increase in the number of people opting out of receiving the giant paper doorstop. If you'd like to read his amusing article, I've included a link here: http://consumerist.com/2011/06/seattle-residents-have-canceled-225000-yellow-pages-in-only-two-months.html .