Who is Craig and Why Does He Like Lists?

Most of you have probably heard of Craigslist. It's a free classifieds website where you can post stuff. What stuff? Any stuff.

I like it because it's local. eBay has the search local feature but you can never find anything. It keeps things manageable and orderly. There's a page for the Lansing area (link above) that I peruse regularly (at least 4 times) every day waiting for that oh-so-special-whatever that's ridiculously under priced. I mean where else could you buy one of these for 50 bucks? I mean you'd probably never use it, but what a great deal!

I could spend myself into oblivion on CL just for the deals. So... Very... Tempting...

I was curious to find out how it works so I did what any rational Internet using fellow would do. I looked it up on Wikipedia (another of the 7 wonders of the Internet, oh Wikipedia the hours I have willingly sacrificed at your semi-accurate knowledge altar!). I was intrigued so I figured I'd pass on the useless knowledge.

Turns out that CL is actually, first and foremost, a Job board. This is how they make their cash. There are about 10 cities where they actually charge a few bucks for each job posting. Everything else in every other city is free. The whole thing is run by 24 guys (disclaimer: there's probably women, 'guys' here is generic) in a house in San Fran. They get 9 billion page views per month and refuse to allow advertising on the site (for now). The founder of the site (Craig) still works in customer service working hard to kill off the spammers (not them literally, just their craft) that sometimes spoil the fun.

Their CEO is described on the CL website as "Possibly the only CEO ever described as anti-establishment, a communist, and a socialistic anarchist..." Sounds like my type of guy!

So next time you need a new blender or a free sofa, hit up the CL site for your particular locale and try not to blow your wad.

P.S. I'd stay clear of the personals, the discussion forums, and several sections under the 'services' category. Not good things. And watch out for scams. CL is local for a reason. Always deal face to face and never send money to have something shipped to you.