craigslist criticism

comic relief: in an attempt to assuage fears that he is gay...

2008-07-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

... Craig agreed to be circumcised right in front of the gf's family! ("gf family bris")

Delia

P.S. They tried to make him feel better by offering him four cakes but he was hurting so bad that he couldn't eat much... ("four cakes not needed") D.

(craigslist traffic) Jim's "selective" statistics...

2008-07-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

again, he "forgets" to mention Alexa -- 5th paragraph-- (something they used to do all the time when things were truly going well...) as I've said before, absolute numbers are not the relevant metric (you would expect them to grow as more people go online etc.) How has craigslist been doing relative to other sites gives a much more accurate image of what's really going on: craigslist's Alexa rank has gone down significantly since I started checking it in 2006 (7th at its best, 12th at its worth; it does fluctuate a bit, of course, -- it is 11th at this point -- , for instance, but that does not change the fact that it's been a definite downward spiral... from 7th to 11th, assuming it's not going to go back to 12th and lower... -- I doubt it...).

Delia

(Steve Outing) interesting experiment...

2008-07-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Steve!

I hope that after this little (apparently unintended) experiment, you will walk away with a much less naive notion of what craigslist is all about. I didn't give your letter much importance when I first saw it (although your suggestions were not bad, your characterization of what craigslist is and does sounded way to groupie-like to take seriously). I *am* pleased to see that it has gained some traction (other articles and people, such as Jay Rosen, mention it) and I hope it will be a learning experience for a lot of people.

Delia

P.S. take care! D.

is Craig planning to retire on his own island?

2008-07-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Although this was no at all what he asked people for when he turned for profit (he just asked if he could charge to pay the bills), you'd think at the kind of profits they've been racking in, he's made enough off of craigslist to retire a long time ago if he just wanted a regular retirement (like he implies) and..."a little bit more"... (last sentence)

Delia

P.S. at one point I really thought these guys were great... (Voice of America); now they sound like idiots... (doing little more than repeating the ridiculous PR Craig feeds them) D.

comic relief: is Craig delusional?

2008-07-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

I mean, it's one thing to be gay... but quite another to believe you can be "in a family way" (pregnant) D.

is craigslist in a panic over their legal issues?

2008-07-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

MORE: anonymous bellow sort of got the idea, although he is a bit confused as to what really matters -- it's NOT the size of the place, it's achieving critical mass *in a particular location* (having extremely few ads pre-charging shows it's nowhere near critical mass).

re: "Right now in Boston and Chicago, you only have half a page of jobs up. And that isn't even accurate since focus groups and egg donations aren't jobs, those should be gigs. So really, you have very few job ads up. Now imagine if you charged a fee in Denver or Houston. You would probably only have a couple of ads up right now, since those cities are so much smaller. If there's only a handful of jobs posted a day, your readers are going to go elsewhere, and with no readers, your employers are going to go elsewhere."
(anonymous craigslist poster)

intending to charge fees before hitting critical mass...

Delia

P.S. dumb idea... UNLESS they think it's closing time so they'll take whatever they can get...

comic relief: need a psychologist (psychiatrist?) to figure out why would Craig...

2008-07-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

...choose to have a rotating saw blade as his... well... see for yourself...

Delia

P.S. is he a top afterall? (and a cruel one at that...) D.

(craigslist prostitution) people worth reading and quoting

2008-07-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hi, Mark! (7th comment)

Trench is not bad... I mean, back when he started his blog I was glad someone else was taking a critical view of craigslist and keeping it up but I don't find his analysis particularly insightful.

Here are a couple of people I found worth reading and quoting on the subject of craigslist prostitution: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (the existence of craigslist's erotic services "increases traffic and generates a number of users [to the site], which in turn enhances their revenue);" Steve Diamond, business law professor at Santa Clara University ("Newmark and Buckmaster are driven mostly by self-interest") and University of B.C. associate law Prof. Janine Benedet ("there is an argument they are really sort of pimping").

Take care!

Delia

wondering if this guy knows what he's getting himself into...

2008-06-19T18:37:00.001-07:00

(doesn't look like it)

Jeremy,

You sound like you are buying what I see as the craigslist BS wholesale -- I hope you understand what you are getting yourself into...

Delia

P.S. I'd definitely step back and take a critical look at it. Good luck! D.

(prostitution: what self-policing?) police are pointing out the obvious...

2008-06-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

re: (last paragraph) "They say they self-police, but there are times when our officers will go up there [on the Web site] and find they just aren't doing it"

let's see what Dennis thinks...

2008-06-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

well.... Dennis Little appears to think very little :) -- I' m assuming he read my comment and declined to post it (I've been using Linux as of late and sometimes there is a problem with the pop-up widows -- oops! windows! sticky letter "n"-- such as those that appear when you post comments)

re: "While everyone tries to figure out what makes Craigslist so successful, the answer lies in Craig Newmark's guiding principle: Give the customer what they want. Time and again, Newmark cites this secret to success in his interviews and his business has an astoundingly effective feedback loop with customers."

Hi Dennis!

How do you figure this works-out in practice? I mean... to have effective feedback you have to
have enough people working customer service, no? Craigslist has been severely understaffed and getting more so by the day (when you look at the number of customer service employees and the number of customers supposedly served), as far as I can tell... just seems that is couldn't possibly work-out, that it's just BS and gullible reporters...

Delia

comic relief: Craig re: Sex and the City: "I'm about two thirds Charlotte, one third Miranda."

2008-06-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

hmmm... is he saying he is a bottom?

why is Microsoft shutting down Live Expo?

2008-06-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

they figured they weren't going to succeed, of course...

Delia

P.S. my belief that the only way to beat Craig (and his equivalents) at his own game is to do what he says only gets stronger as time passes... D.

is Walmart a threat?

2008-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

potentially... it's *way* to early to tell if they will make a real difference -- can they get people to pay? (that's the real test -- craigslist has succeeded in repeatedly doing this in a very unusual and difficult to duplicate way) D.

(Craig's story blows up) what if craigslist didn't "dilute" ebay in a legal sense?

2008-06-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

doesn't matter what it's called... (the contradiction remains) D.

(Mozilla helper: (Craig's story blows up) what if craigslist didn't "dilute" ebay in a legal sense? )

Anonymous re: Anthony Batt, thanks for commenting!

2008-05-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

it's just that it sounds a bit libelous without giving the details... D.

comic relief (Craig's speeches): Gordon: "I wasn't aware such a caliber of monotony was possible"

2008-05-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

another one of Craig's BSing that would be funny if it wasn't sad... D.

re: Gordon: (2nd from last paragraph) "I stopped paying attention somewhere in the middle and then for some reason my ears perked up when his speech became a political rally cry, but it was boring nonetheless."

Dave: (last paragraph) "Well he winged it alright. And no it wasn't a 15 minute speech. It was more like a 20 minute, incoherent ramble under a blistering hot sun. Painful, inconsiderate, douchey. I can't believe he got paid to speak at the top public university in the country, and didn't think it was worth his while to prepare a speech."

(independent observers) Janine Benedet: "There is an argument they are really sort of pimping"

2008-05-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

re (4th paragraph from bottom) : "Craigslist itself could face criminal charges for aiding in communication for the purpose of child prostitution, said University of B.C. associate law Prof. Janine Benedet"

Delia

craigslist's response to ebay's complaint: pretty much meaningless

2008-05-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

boilerplate... (1st comment by Hedda) D.

Delia

P.S. I did take a quick look at some reports and got disappointed quickly (e.g. Associated Press: last line: "ebay, owns a 28% stake in craigslist?" what? how clueless is that? ebay bought 28.4 % back in 2004, got diluted to just above 25% in 2005 and subsequently further diluted to under 25% -- if AP doesn't get this, they have no business reporting on this story... pretty sad...) D.

(ebay and craigslist) alright... the fight is on!

2008-05-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

errata (please read!) the complaint does NOT claim that calling kijiji "craigslist killer" violated the trademark (at least not specificaly, there is some vague language towards the end but nothing specific). So what made me think that? the article! :(4th paragraph) " Craigslist accuses eBay of calling Kijiji a 'Craigslist killer' inside the company and using the Craigslist moniker to confuse the public and 'illegally divert' Internet traffic from Craigslist to eBay and the Kijiji site." --> they should have really explained how the traffic diversion was accomplished, otherwise it stands to reason that it was the result of calling kijiji a "craigslist killer" --> this was NOT done just inside the company, the press used it at the time also... alright! I need to ignore the articles and just go to the source when that is an option... D.
...

craigslist counter sues... some of their claims sound perfectly ridiculous! how could calling kijiji a "craigslist killer" violate their trademark? what kind of confusion could that create? who in their right mind would think... it's the same company! by the same ridiculous idea, there could be no "craigslist watch" (or "craigslist criticism" for that matter...); way to let the judge know who he is dealing with...

Delia

P.S. Jim does little more than give the laundry list of complaints this time...

P.P.S. right Jim! it was so "unfair and unlawful" that you did nothing about it until ebay sued you... D.

(three times in a row) The New York Times misses it...again...

2008-05-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

MORE: most comments appear clueles but not all...

e.g. (5th comment) Lou:" It appears that plain and simple Buckmaster and Newmark have attempted to dilute the interest of eBay, possibly to increase their share of any dividend, profit interest, or proceeds of sale of the company at the expense of eBay and eBay’s shareholders".
...
no mention of the first (uncontested) dilution of ebay's share to just above 25% in 2005 (one year AFTER the 2004 purchase by ebay) or the fact that ebay now says they bought 28.4% back in 2004 while craigslist/Craig has been assuring people it was ONLY 25%... D.

comic relief: Craig fails the celebrity test... again... (after all this time)

2008-05-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

re: (end of second paragraph from bottom) paparazzi: "Who are you?" did they take his picture out of pitty? I mean... how mcuh is Craig's picture worth? just wasting shots... D.

(independent observers) Steve Diamond: what's really driving Craig & Jim?

2008-05-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

re: (5th paragraph from bottom) "Independent observers such as Steve Diamond, a business law professor at Santa Clara University, suggest Newmark and Buckmaster are driven mostly by self-interest. If they don't care about making more money, Diamond says, why are they attending investment conferences?"

alright! maybe I finally get my wish and somebody does take this out of my hands :) ... Steven Diamond sounds like a good replacement if he keeps it up...

Delia

(the contradiction is dispelled?) let's hope Anonymous is not just bragging...

2008-05-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

EVEN MORE: well, you are right -- I *am* disappointed:)...

Delia

P.S. may I remind you that in 2004 when ebay acquired 28.4% of craigslist according to their most recent press release and only 25% according to craigslist/Craig, craigslist employees did NOT have stock options (the "stock incentives plan")? -- according to the footnote at the bottom of page two of ebay's complaint, stock options were given to employees ONLY in 2005, a year *after* ebay's purchase... this diluted eBay’s share to 25.01%, in a "fully diluted" form (if all outstanding options were exercised)

ebay did nothing about this dilution, the law suit was prompted by subsequent further dilution to under 25% apparently as a result of Craig& Jim issuing more shares to *themselves*...

So... the contradiction remains...

P.P. S. thanks for telling me what you thought, though... take care! D.

MORE: please read the comments to this entry!
...
Hi Anonymous! (1st comment)

you better know what you are talking about:) because I'm going to hold you to your end of the bargain... anyways, I can certainly tell you what got me to start this blog if you are curious -- hate to disappoint you but it wasn't anything Craig did or didn't do to me... *lol*... He just kept bullshitting all sorts of people that should have known better and getting away with it... (as far as I could see...) I thought putting down what I was seeing was going to be interesting and entertaining... and it was... (for the most part...)

Delia

P.S. your turn!:) D.

(Craig & NAMBLA) Owen is busy...

2008-05-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

...exposing Moller

Delia

P.S. when is he going to look into Craig's NAMBLA thing?