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COVER STORY
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Speaking as a nerd I can only say treat people like you want
to be treated – your community will see that’s what you’re
about and respond in kind’
Yahoo!, Microsoft, Apple or any other big technology or online of anything noble or pious or anything like that. It just feels right
company, which almost without fail have Europe well covered. to do things the way we have been doing them.”
Newmark jokingly says that Craigslist doesn’t go where it’s not
wanted, but it seems as though, while not gathering any moss, this
Slowly does it
stone rolls at its own pace. A pace allowed by the fact that most of
While Google is famous for its informal slogan of ‘Don’t be evil’,
the ad placement revenue comes from a few core US cities.
it could be said that Craigslist takes this phrase and turns it into
He delivers his answers calmly, thoughtfully and with a sense
poetry in motion. However, one thing that Craigslist definitely
of humour that belies the quiet driving force that contributes to
does not seem to have in common with Google is the sense of
the site’s large and loyal user base. The company continues to
pace, ever-evolving tweaks and redesigns. It seems as though
grow and, despite the fact that it does not disclose any financial
the shiny Web 2.0 world has passed it by.
information, analysts have guessed the annual revenue could
Not so, says Newmark. “I never set out to do something spe-
have been in the ballpark of US$150m in 2007 alone. It is by far
cific. I just started something simple and made commitments to
the biggest dating site, the biggest job seekers’ site and the
my community and followed through with those.”
biggest apartment listing site in the entire US.
One of those commitments, he says, is to listen to users’ sug-
“We only go into a new city when we feel welcome, when
gestions and follow through on that. The community doesn’t
people ask us. That, and our company is run by engineers –
want fancy software, they seem to want something that does
primarily Jim, the enormously tall one – and we don’t promote
the job and does it well.
the site. We don’t advertise.
As regards Craigslist’s dated design, he says: “When you get
“We move in gently and slowly and persistently. It took us
some good engineering judgment you use what’s appropriate
quite a while to get into language translation at all so that’s pos-
rather than what’s exciting personally. There are cool technolo-
sibly the reason for the slowness but we’re in it for the long run.
gies out there which may help or may hurt but the engineering
“We don’t want to be intrusive or pushy in any manner so if it
principle is to keep it simple.”
takes 20 years or so [to crack Europe] that works for me.”
Craigslist’s commercial sense, it seems, is based on what
Buckmaster has described as three ironies: unbranding, demon-
Not for sale
etising and noncompeting. Newmark thinks carefully before
If Craigslist’s ethos is ‘gently and slowly’ then why, one won- adding, “There’s truth in that. I hadn’t thought about it from that
ders, does eBay, a ‘hard and fast’ online auction site, own a perspective but I can’t see anything wrong with that statement.
chunk? With eBay shareholders looking for return on investment “We’ve never consciously branded. It just happened. We’ve
it seems as though this must be the chink in Craigslist’s armour: never thought much about monetising and we don’t think much
it gets eBay’s investment and must work for it. about competition but to the best of my knowledge there’s no-
As it turns out Craigslist is clean: the eBay share was sold by one who does what we do – operating as a community service
a former employee whom Newmark notes had full right to do so and a business.
and Craigslist is currently “engaged in some litigation”. “Speaking as a nerd I can only say treat people like you want
Aside from this Craigslist is categorically not for sale, he to be treated – your community will see that’s what you’re about
states. “This isn’t out of a sense of altruism, nor out of a sense and respond in kind.”
Volume 4 Issue 1 2010 Marketing Age 23
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