November 16, 2004
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-- Ode to Dane Madsen
-- The Proof ISN'T in the Pudding
-- Answer to Last Week's Brainteaser
-- He's much taller in person
-- Welcome to Colorado . . . now go home!
-- Do you suppose this is "the other book"?
-- Insight on the YellowPages.com Acquisition
-- Another opinion on YellowPages.com
-- Not exactly puppy love.
-- GM Joins Hybrid Car Race
-- This Week's Brainteaser
-- Quote of the Week

Ode to Dane Madsen back to top Forward to a Friend
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(to the tune of The Beverley Hillbillies)

Come and listen to a story about a man named Dane
A Yellow Pages rep tried messin' with his brain,
She said "The book is closing" and she said it mighty rude,
If you miss this publication boy, your business will be screwed.


Bankruptcy, son - anonymity.


Well the first thing you know Dane's on the Internet.
"YellowPages.com is a name they won't forget"
He did a little digging and he found that it was free
So he registered the name and the rest is history.


Hang on son, we ain't done yet.


Well, the Internet explodes and the advertisers grin.
The paper Yellow Pages start to take it on the chin.
Some Baby Bells get chummy for a dot-com shopping spree.
Their hundred million dollars buys the number one marquis.



YellowPages.com that is. Get it?


Congratulations, Dane.

The real story of how YellowPages.com came into being

The Proof ISN'T in the Pudding back to top Forward to a Friend
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When an ad proof comes back from the publisher, there are six critical things that the advertiser must check to ensure the ad will be effective.

Unless all of the six elements are present, the ad won't perform as well as it could.

If you read Chapter 14 of Win the Yellow Pages War, you'll learn all six steps, and will begin making better ads immediately.

That's just one of the many easy exercises in this book that guide advertisers on how to be smarter with their YP investment. Pretty cool, huh?

Download this book now for only $15.

Answer to Last Week's Brainteaser back to top Forward to a Friend
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We had a lot of fun with Buford and Festus mispronouncing Louisville. Another city that is often mispronounced is New Orleans. Locals say "Naw-lins," or something like that.

However, one word is pronounced incorrectly more often than these or any other word in the English language.

Can you guess which word it is?

See the Answer & Our Celebrity Winners

He's much taller in person back to top Forward to a Friend
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I finally got to meet the Dali Llama. He's taller than I expected.

Peter Krasilovsky did an excellent write up of the recent Kelsey Conference that covered the field of Local Internet Search and the Yellow Pages. I think he captured the high points very well.

My liver wishes I had stayed home and waited for Pete's report.

Read Pete Krasilovsky's take on Local Search.

Welcome to Colorado . . . now go home! back to top Forward to a Friend
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Gee, I'm kind of getting the feeling that you don't want me to stay.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you're coming to San Diego, why not stay at Deborah's new townhome? It rocks!

Check out the photos of Deborah's vacation rental.

Do you suppose this is "the other book"? back to top Forward to a Friend
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A recent survey by the Yellow Pages Association reports that college students use the printed telephone directories as often as they use Internet search engines.

Insight on the YellowPages.com Acquisition back to top Forward to a Friend
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Rich Hargrave, VP-Internet Ambassador Yellow Pages (not pictured here), wrote a very insightful piece on the BellSouth / SBC acquisition of YellowPages.com and its message for all of us.

Read Rich's view of the acquisition and its message.

Another opinion on YellowPages.com back to top Forward to a Friend
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Herb Gordon (not pictured here), Spiritual Leader and Entertainment Coordinator of the Association of Directory Marketing, Inc., had this to say about the YellowPages.com acquisition.

"This is a big development. It should position SBC and BellSouth to be much more competitive for Internet dollars."

I believe what he meant to say was,

"$100 million dollars ! ! !

Oh Mama, why didn't I think of registering that name?

Dang."

Here are the presentations from the recent ADM conference.

Not exactly puppy love. back to top Forward to a Friend
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This is just another game of cat and moose.

My article on Verizon's Pay Per Click Model.

GM Joins Hybrid Car Race back to top Forward to a Friend
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General Motors announced that they were retroactively making their Chevy Citations into hybrid vehicles.

This actually happened to my Chevy Citation.

This Week's Brainteaser back to top Forward to a Friend
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Consider these strings: 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221, 312211, ... what is the next item?

As a hint, it is called an audioactive puzzle.

Email your answer to puzzler@dicklarkin.com

The winner will receive 15 minutes of uninterrupted fame.

To improve your random chances of winning, please include your name and company name.

I draw the winner the day before I send the following newsletter, so keep voting until the polls close.

I didn't have room for all of these jokes.

Quote of the Week back to top Forward to a Friend
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"Every state has two senators. That way they always have a designated driver."
- Jay Leno

Check out the Brain Teaser Archive.