Craigslist Information

If you've ever taken the time to search the classifieds of your local paper you are often forced to search through small print for hours before possibly finding what you need. This "old school" method for finding products and services is no longer necessary, as it has been replaced with a hipper and more efficient method featured at Craigslist. Craigslist is a central network of online communities offering free classifieds for virtually anything. Postings for jobs, housing, personals, items for sale and miscellaneous items are featured daily. The site is updated throughout the day, everyday. This makes it an almost instant venue for selling and buying services and products via the Web.

The Humble Beginnings Of Craig's List

Craig Newmark of the San Francisco Bay area founded Craigslist.org back in 1995. It was then incorporated in 1999. It began as a simple hobby in which Newmark was emailing local San Francisco event lists and Internet information to a group of friends. Through word of mouth, friends of friends began to request these emails and over time Craigslist was more than a hobby. It quickly became a blossoming business. Craig Newmark then created his ever popular classifieds site. The site holds information on job postings, houses for rent and the ability to buy or sell goods. Visitors spend hours browsing classified ads from work or home via their personal computer. Due to the rapid growth of Craigslist and the demands it began employing onto Craig Newmark, employees were hired to help with the workload. In the year 2000, a gentleman by the name of Jim Buckmaster was hired as CEO of the company. Making up the current owners of Craigslist is the founder Craig Newmark, CEO Jim Buckmaster and eBay. In fact, 25% of the company is owned by eBay after a former share holder sold out.

Who Is Craigslist For?

Craigslist is becoming somewhat of a phenomenon with the success it brings for those posting advertisements, as well as the success it brings to those responding to these ads. With today's rapid technological boom, people are more likely to feel comfortable browsing through ads online than in their local paper. Likewise, this Internet service has become a part of pop culture with the boom of Internet based services. What separates the site from the many other web-based services is it is largely a free service with no strings attached. With the exception of a handful of large cities (LA, DC, SF, SD, NYC, Boston and Seattle) which are charged a fee to post job advertisements, all other postings are free. This is extremely appealing to many people, considering most magazines and local newspapers charge a fee for posting advertisements.

For many people selling goods and services, the business tool of Craigslist is an excellent resource. It is cost efficient (free) and effective. In addition, it offers a vast target audience. Craigslist has twelve billion page views per month, making it highly attractive to those wanting to sell large ticket items or services. Because the people who use Craigslist are diverse in age, culture and race, there are a multitude of potential buyers for any one item or service. Along with the diverse audience, the site has a largely successful return rate offering the chance for more people to buy an offered service or product. In fact, the return rate is so attractive many people are forgoing services such as eBay auctions to fully run their business via Craigslist. While eBay charges an auction fee, Craigslist charges nothing at all. Thus, it can be financially attractive to those who sell a large number of items each month. This new way of operating a business is catching on all over the country.

Business Or Pleasure

When you first begin to browse the Craigs list site, it appears to be strictly business. However, Craigslist is not ALL business. Sure, if you have a need for a service or product, you'll find it there. You can find everything from a job to an apartment and more! But, you can also find a way to connect with others in your community through tools such as a discussion forum. There are numerous topics, from pets to art and religion. Here it is set up like a chat room as you read and are introduced to people and simply jump in when the mood hits you. The conversations can be fun and amusing as you share a joke, or you can be more serious and discuss topics. It is a way for us to connect with our fellow man. You can take in another's perspective or you can simply relate about the world we all share.

It is unique to see a site such as Craigslist available, for free. Visitors can leave the site feeling satisfied to have accomplished a task, such as finding the antique linen your mother wanted or finding the new job which will start your year out right. At the same time, you can blow off some steam over the current economy, election or the fluctuating gas prices via discussion boards. The more you look around the sections of Craigslist you realize it is a one stop shop experience. As bizarre as it may sound, you can almost compare Craigslist to Wal-Mart. They both have the best prices in town and everyone you seem to meet goes there!

Why Is Craigslist So Popular?

Craigslist has also become popular due to stories of reconnected relationships and reuniting lost loves. The chance to find romance or simply a companion is alluring for many site visitors. As we have allowed ourselves to become overworked and unconnected with our fellow human beings, it can be almost impossible to find love at the grocery store or dance club. This technological method for communication is a poplar tool in the world we now live in. However, it should be stated there are precautions daters should take when setting up dates via Craigslist. For safety reasons, a dater should always meet their date in a public place and never agree to go into a car or a home they are not familiar with.

Craigslist is popular for so many reasons and now we can see perhaps one of the reasons for such popularity, is due to its chi-type of balance. It is something so simple in design, yet fascinatingly useful. It can bring a smile to your face with a laugh or bring a tear to your eye to hear someone's compassion for those who suffer in the world via the discussion boards. Craigs list may be more than a "you need it, we'll find it" technological wonder. Perhaps, it is in some way a gift which will help bring some of us closer together. Learning to understand one another and live more open-mindedly is a beautiful thing!

It is not to say through Craigslist the world will find complete peace with one another. But, it can be said lives have been changed for the better through Craigslist. Lost loves have been reunited, memories shared and opinions changed. There is definitely something to be said about the success of the site.

All in all, in the event you are looking to buy furniture, sell your car or find a date for a Friday night, Craigslist can be the answer! Only time will tell how wide spread Craigslist will become. But, it is certain where ever Craigslist is available there will be satisfied employers, employees and purchasers.