[LINK] Google versus the phone book?

[Chirgwin, Richard]

Linkers, 

Among various bits of the media, there's an emerging "received wisdom" that
Google will inevitably replace even online telephone directories.

I'm not entirely sure; it's the sort of belief that seems to me to rest on a
lot of dependencies:
- search accuracy (Google finds, and cannot distinguish between, current and
outdated data)
- comprehensiveness (the business I want may have no Web presence. I know
that's wierd, but the local newsagent may not have time for a Website just
to say "we sell newspapers"!)
- search efficiency (if I want only the contact details, the online
Whitepages delivers it on a single click. For Google, it cannot happen in
fewer than two clicks - searching google, then heading off to the Website it
finds).

To my simple mind, these need no explanation: www.whitepages.com.au
<www.whitepages.com.au>  and www.google.com <www.google.com>  perform a
similar, but not identical function. But is there something I'm missing? 

Cheers,
Richard Chirgwin