When looking at the Internet's top 20 companies by page views, there are
the usual suspects, like Google and Yahoo, as well as other companies
whose names can be rattled off by any savvy nine-year-old with a dial-up
connection. But nestled on the list is one contender that, despite
steady growth and millions of users, doesn't immediately come to mind:
craigslist.
Started as a way to harness the enthusiasm felt by early
Internet users, craigslist was developed by (who else?) a guy named
Craig who thought that technology could bring increased productivity,
but also just a really good way to find a job, and maybe an apartment,
or a killer local band in Boise.
A visit to the site
>www.craigslist.org< reveals a stripped-down, non-graphical way to
connect with fellow Internet denizens in cities from Atlanta to
Washington, D.C. The site boasts housing listings, personals, items for
sale, and discussion forums, but since its inception, it's drawn the
most power in its jobs section.
Employers have a hassle-free way to find
employees, and job seekers have responded in droves. Founder Craig
Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster chatted about the site's evolution, and
where it goes from here.
How did the site get started?
Craig Newmark: Ten years ago, I was a tech
guy at Charles Schwab and evangelizing the Internet. I saw a lot of
people helping out a lot of other people online, and in early 1995, I
figured I should do a little of that myself. I started with a simple
newslist, but turned it into a more serious technology operation.
What kinds of changes have you seen over that time in technology that
you think are notable?
CN: Aside from the large leaps in Web basics,
we've seen cool developments in many areas of technology, particularly
wireless connectivity and Web server software. But the fundamentals
remain the same. People want a sense of community, they want things to
be fair. People are generally trustworthy, and they want to do the right
thing for each other. I think that drive is what's behind sites like
ours, the need for socialization and communication that connects
everyone to each other. For craigslist, there have been many changes as
well. Basically, even in 1995, people began asking for more stuff on the
site. Originally, it was just a list that discussed arts and technology.
Then people asked if they could list jobs, and stuff for sale, and a
place to discuss issues. We're a community-driven site, so as people ask
for more, we respond, as long as it's true to our original vision.
With other job sites on the Web, some of them very large like
Monster.com, what makes your site unique?
CN: We think that the people
who visit our site appreciate the culture of trust that we foster.
Without naming other job sites specifically, there can be a feeling of
being disconnected from the site's values, and being just one of many
people on the site. Here, we put a lot of effort into customer service,
and staying true to our community. As a result, we have a continuous
stream of feedback from people saying they found jobs on our site, and
from employers saying they found great employees because of us. That's
nice.
In 1999, you handed over the reins to Jim Buckmaster, although the site
is still craigslist. Why the change?
CN: I began to realize that even
though I had a lot of commitment to the site, I wasn't a good enough
manager to grow it. That's when I went full-time on it, and made a
company out of it. I hired Jim to be the CTO, but now he's the guy who
really runs the company. I've surrounded myself with good people like
him who really know how to bring things together, in a way I couldn't.
Over the last five years, I've started to focus on other issues,
especially customer service. I feel that it's now my job to remind
everyone that customer service is a really big deal even if it isn't
taken seriously in many companies.
The site doesn't have any advertising, and you only charge for posting
jobs in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. How do you make money?
Jim Buckmaster: The strategy of charging for ads in those three cities,
which have the highest number of job postings, is going well. Our
business in San Francisco has been increasing steadily since late 2001,
which was the low point for us in the recent recession. New York and Los
Angeles has added incremental income as well.
What kind of challenges does the site face now, in terms of getting more
growth?
JB: We want to eventually go everywhere that people want us to
go, which can be challenging. We recently added 12 new U.S. cities, and
we have requests from around the world to put in more international
cities as well. Because of the multilingual hurdles, we've only rolled
out in English-speaking countries so far, like Australia and Canada. But
with the number of requests we're getting about Paris, it looks like
we'll be doing that soon.
The Internet has boomed since the site began. Why do you think having a
simple community site is still important?
JB: We feel that it's useful
for people across the full spectrum of basic human needs, whether they
need housing, a job, a spouse, friends, or just used goods. The site is
free, so people don't have to navigate the gauntlet of money-making
opportunities like text ads and banner ads, and we don't sell names to
spammers. Because of this, our community trusts us, and each other.
We're an online resource that connects people together, and there's an
appreciation for that. We think that creating and fostering that basic
connection will always be important for the Internet, and for
craigslist.
