Yahoo! Hacks

Replace Your Phone Book with Yahoo!

Throw out the giant book of numbers, and find everything from business information to personal phone numbers by searching at Yahoo!.

In the days before the Web, the local telephone directory was probably the most used book in the house. Getting in touch with friends, finding a place for dinner, and reaching local government agencies was accomplished by flipping through the pages of your phone book. Even the maps printed in the book could help you locate hard-to-find addresses.

Now, every home that has an Internet connection can get the same local information with Yahoo!. And with Yahoo!, you not only have access to local listings and business, but you are also able to browse virtually every phone book from every city across the United States.

Finding Businesses

Finding a business address and phone number on Yahoo! is similar to finding the information in a traditional phone book. Say you want to get a haircut in Sebastopol, California. You’d find a local directory, flip through the Yellow Pages until you find the Barbers category—or maybe Salon, Hairdresser, or Hair Stylist—and look through the listings.

On the Web, you can browse to http://local.yahoo.com and type in barbers and a location—in this case, 1005 Gravenstein Hwy N Sebastopol, CA. Yahoo! will come back with a list of phone numbers and addresses, as shown in Figure 2-49.

Figure 2-49. Yahoo! ...