Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Craig's List

I was at dinner with some friends last night at eccentric Mex restuarant Catinflas in the West Village and some of us were discussing Craig's List, the SF-based community organizing site pioneered by 47 year old Craig Newmark. Most of us agreed the non-profit would be bought out sooner or later. Fast Company did a great piece on him a while back of which I couldn't help but try to relocate this morning--and thanks to Dogpile I found it quickly.
Craig Newmark knows a community when he sees one -- because he's built one of the Web's most influential communities. If you ask around, you'll soon find someone who's participated in "craigslist" (www.craigslist.org), which acts as a virtual community bulletin board for the San Francisco Bay Area -- the unofficial capital of the Internet economy. It's the plugged-in place to find a job, a roommate, a neighborhood dog walker, or the latest Internet-industry schmooze. And hardly a week goes by without at least one plaintive posting: Is there a list like this in New York? Portland? Boston? Seattle? What was once a Java programmer's part-time avocation is now a fast-growing nonprofit that receives full-time devotion from Newmark and five other staffers; it's run like a scrappy startup out of Newmark's Cole Valley flat. The business model is simple: Charge companies $45 to list job openings. All other listings are free. The community does the rest. "Our intent is inclusive -- to humanize and democratize the Internet"
Read the rest of the article here--we're convinced that sooner or later, CL will get acquired.

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