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10 Dec 2009 11:12

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Tech: eBay’s reason for wanting a piece of Craigslist? To block Google.

  • The deal hasn’t exactly been roses for them since. In the midst of a lawsuit with the free, indifferent-towards-money classified service, a top exec admitted this was part of the reason for acquisition. However, they also noted that another suitor was interested – but they were apparently hostile to Craigslist’s mission. eBay is run by idiots, apparently, because they launched a direct competitor to Craigslist, Kijiji, which suffers from the triple-threat of 1) being something nobody has ever heard of (with a confusing name to boot), 2) ruining current business deals and 3) being an also-ran in the market the company technically already owns. Brilliant! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Sep 2009 22:03

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Culture: Craigslist’s Missed Connections are an art in their own right

Missed Connections
  • We saw Sophie Blackall somewhere in Brooklyn. (We missed her.) She was sketching a little piece of heaven called “Missed Connections.” It’s one of those brilliant ideas which was begging to be done. In a few years, expect Blackall’s blog to become a Nora Ephron movie. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2009 21:44

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World: Cuba joins the Internet age with a black-market Craiglist wannabe

The name, Revolico, stands for “disarray,” a cheeky way to describe the country’s post-embargo economy. But the site is a shot in the arm for the black market. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jun 2009 03:18

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Music: For sale: One used 1999 Volkswagen Passat. (Owned by Elliott Smith.)

  • As music superfans, whoa. Do you live in Austin? Do you have $4,000 lining your pockets? Looking to gain instant indie cred and help a good cause at the same time? Buy this car. It’s a little dinged up, but it used to be owned by our biggest obsession, Elliott Smith. His sister is selling it. If you buy it, you too can imagine what he was thinking when he was driving around coming up with songs like “Son of Sam” and “Twilight.” Plus, even better, the proceeds – 100% of them – go to the SIMS foundation, which helps musicians with mental health and addiction problems. Admit it, you want it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2009 20:54

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U.S.: Accused “Craigslist Killer” Phillip Markoff indicted this weekend

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jun 2009 22:04

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Biz, Politics: The newspaper industry doesn’t know what it’s doing. Duh.

  • As someone who still loves newspapers and the possibilities of thriving local news organizations, I find the thinking of this industry group depressing. What does it say that these API white papers may represent the best ideas of the industry’s business leaders?
  • Former Rocky Mountain News editor John Temple • Discussing the nature of a recent closed-door summit of newspaper publishers as well as a whitepaper by the American Press Institute, both of which leaned on with all sorts of great ideas such as charging for news online, attacking copyright violators like the RIAA and taking market share from Craigslist. (Disclosure: We worked on a solution a couple months ago.) Temple (who, as the editor of a shuttered newspaper, has better insight than most) has a solid key point worth repeating: “How is the newspaper industry going to attract any of the best and brightest into its ranks if its ideas are stale, at best?” Smart stuff. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2009 22:37

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Politics, Tech: Dear Henry McMaster: You’re a massive jerk. Here’s why.

  • Craigslist is great. Despite the creative destruction it’s creating for the newspaper industry at the moment, it’s clearly a useful resource that millions of people – thousands in the state of South Carolina, where McMaster is attorney general – find value in. They’re one of the few Web services more concerned about value than profit.
  • Craigslist isn’t “erotic” We’ve all heard this drama about Craigslist’s “Erotic Services” section, the “Craigslist Killer” and how Craigslist is ruining our society for having the same kind of ads that run in alt-weeklies and Yellow pages. But few people use it for this purpose – mostly, people sell stuff, find apartments and look for jobs. Not massages.
  • Political grabHenry McMaster’s attempt to file criminal charges against a very popular service in his state over a tiny minority of posts (40 out of 334,180 in S.C.) is clearly just an attempt by McMaster to Spitzer his way into higher office. Because Craigslist means headlines. Craigslist won’t take it. Apologize to them, Henry. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 May 2009 12:40

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Biz, U.S.: Let’s pour a 40 for the Craiglist “Erotic Services” section

  • It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday’s erotic massages. After much prodding from attorney generals across the country, not to mention the terrible PR of a guy labeled the “Craiglist killer” killing massage therapists all over the Boston metro area, Craigslist is finally getting rid of one of their most, uh, popular sections, the “Erotic Services” section. It’ll be replaced with a moderated adult category which we’re sure is going to put massage therapists working out of sketchy hotel rooms out of work. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2009 08:35

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U.S.: Oh boy. Accused Craigslist killer: “There’s more coming out”

  • That’s what he told his brother in jail Friday. Philip Markoff, whose life turned upside-down pretty quickly, made the comment during his family’s first visit since his arrest. Markoff is in jail accused of attacking one victim he met on Craigslist and murdering another. “It is unclear if he meant more victims or more evidence,” said a law-enforcement official familiar with the case. By the way, his fiancée, Meghan McAllister, has yet to visit him in jail, and word is that the wedding’s off. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2009 23:59

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Biz: Yesterday, we tried to come up with innovative ad models.

Revenue 2.0 rocked. Here’s our attempt at an improved version of Craigslist for newspapers. Tell us what you think. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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