Patrick Beeson

If you think the newspaper industry is in trouble, take a look at the college alumni directory business. Their lunch is being eaten by social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.

I received two index cards in the mail recently both requesting I call a phone number to confirm my alumni information for the University of Alabama (graduate) and Appalachian State University (undergraduate). Both were mailed from a company called Harris Connect, a directory vendor used by many colleges and universities.

Being a good alumni I called the number for the AppState directory and answered a few questions about my current job, graduate degree and address. Then came the sales pitch: I could purchase a print or CD-ROM (!) directory for approximately $50 where I was assured my classmates information would be listed (good for networking!).

I didn't mention to the friendly voice on the other line that most of my classmates, the ones I care to keep in touch with at least, are already in touch with me on Facebook and LinkedIn. And both of those services are free.

Not only that, if a classmate wanted to find me all he/she has to do is Google my name and look for the top result. That too is a free service.

Also, AppState already has an alumni blog and an online directory called "Gold Book." Unfortunately these services appear to suffer from a lack of participation among the majority of alumni. I could only find information on a handful of folks I knew in the Boone days.

For the students just entering higher education the news of print/CD-ROM (I love it) directories becoming obsolete is nothing new. Heck, that bastion of bad photographic memories the yearbook has got to be on its way out, right?

Or are students still clinging to their door-stoppers for that tactile feeling they get when flipping through pages of memories? (Zing!)