COMMERCIAL PHONE BOOKS’ BUSINESS MODEL THREATENED

Published on Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Traditional paper phone books losing market share to online alternatives that allow anyone to edit business details

Montreal, QC, July 24 2008: North American and UK Consumers have grown tired of unhelpful and miscategorised phone directories, and have begun to leave in droves for internet alternatives. The Kelsey Group, an advertising research firm, says that “the use of printed newspapers and yellow pages has been falling at a rate of 2% to 3% per year. But in 2008, the drop in usage may be closer to 10%”.
This decline could be attributed to the fact that traditional phonebooks are cumbersome, unengaging, and often miscategorized. Internet alternatives are proving to be much more popular to the “net generation”, which demands high quality, peer-sourced information via the World Wide Web.

Brownbook.net is the free online business directory. It is based on Wiki principals; anyone in any country can review, edit, or add any business anywhere. Brownbook.net has harnessed the massive creative power of peer-production (user generated content) to put together the most comprehensive free online business directory to date.

The directory works as you would expect, displaying all the contact details of businesses, but with the added bonus of word-of-mouth reviews and testimonials. Furthermore, a business can reply to the reviews, and their listing can be enhanced by adding pictures and videos.

“We built The Brownbook because we wanted an impartial service- one based on peoples’ experiences and preferences so others can share their confidence when making purchasing decisions,” comments Brownbook.net COO Marc Lyne.

Brownbook.net was founded in the UK in February 2008, and has since launched in Canada, the US, and Australia. More countries are set to follow as Brownbook.net continues its international expansion.

###

For more information about Brownbook.net or to schedule an interview, please contact Basil Berntsen at (514) 313-7513 or email basil@brownbook.net. Alternatively see the Brownbook.net blog: http://blog.brownbook.net.

Brownbook Limited, London Road, Sayers Common, West Sussex, BH6 9HS, United Kingdom.