Interview: Craig Newmark, Creator & Director, Craig's List -
7th February 2006

You have made a ton of progress since our last interview in November 2003. What has really taken Craig's List to new levels in the past few years?

Just continuous slow growth, plodding away, we're not the hare, we're the tortoise.

How did you roll out the international expansion?

After we got requests for various cities, we started overseas in September of '04.

What's the biggest compliment you ever received?

In the NY Times, Penelope Green said that "craigslist is a marketplace in the ancient sense, chaotic, unrule, and vividly human".

What's the biggest challenges you constantly face?

Gotta keep listening to people, tough choices to make regarding charging apartment brokers in New York city.

Explain the business model, and the new changes you are implementing? (paid listings? etc)

Business model? We asked, and people told us to "charge people who'd otherwise be paying more for less effective ads." consensus was to charge for jobs and real estate/apartments available. Considering charging for rental listings in NYC, also job ads in Boston,
Washington, et al.

How many media interviews do you do per year?

Maybe 200-300, including student journalists, people starting blogs, etc.

When will you retire and enjoy the hard work you have been putting in?

I'll be doing customer service only as long as I live; after that, its' over.

What plans for Australia do you have?

Nothing specific.

What other business ventures do you have on the go that you would like our readers to know about?

Nothing re craigslist, but I'm working with people advancing news media.

-- helping Jeff Jarvis and Upendra Shardanand with tech to help people locate the most trustworthy versions of stories.

-- working with investigative journalists, like the Center for Public Integrity (publicintegrity.org) to build tools to locate shady US
politicians

What motivates you?

Commitment... and I'd like to be funnier

What is your motto?

Anything from Leonard Cohen would do

What's the next big thing?

More sites enabling their community to run the sites, like us.

...end.

Editors note: Craig's List is going to be one to watch this year, and well into the future. Media Man Australia is collaborating and working with some of new media greatest's talents in 2006, and we are delighted to bring this interview to you.

Websites

Craig's List

Profiles

Craig's List

Interview - 24th November 2003