Democracy is coming to the U.S.A, and Craigslist is coming to Ramallah

by David Russell

But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay...

Craig Newmark, who spoke at the NYU Reynolds Programme in Social Entrepreneurship as part of the Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century Speaker Series on Wednesday joked that he was revealing his age by sharing this, one of his favourite lyrics. The relevance though is not his stubbornness in keeping to his original conception of a free online classifieds and listings service with no banner or pop-up advertising - despite the large sums of money that have been offered to him through the years from the likes of Microsoft. Some may see him as stubborn, but as he revealed in referring to the lyric, it is democracy that is his driving force.  

Founder and Customer Service Representative of Craigslist - Craig is a social entrepreneur with a difference. A self-confessed nerd, he is a man who enjoys not having to arise from his seat. But as he is showing, it is possible to change the world and start a revolution without necessarily leaving one's computer in this internet age.

Cragislist evolutionised the ability of people to connect online - a full decade before facebook was even a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg's eye. The secret of the site's success - which clocks up over 10 billion page views a month - is its simplicity and dedicated focus. As Craig revealed "we know what we do well, and we treat people like we want to be treated."

Humble and modest, he spoke honestly about his ineptitude in managing people - and his realisation that it would be best for all concerned if he were to just concentrate on what he knows and does best, and enjoys most, responding to and helping Craigslist users. And as he admitted, with the site carrying his name, he has a vested interest in doing the job well..!

Craig admitted that it was partly by accident, rather than design, that he has created a concept that perfectly matches the Reynolds definition of a social entrepreneurial venture. It is scalable - now in 570 cities worldwide and continuing to spread, recently to Ramallah as Craig explained, due to the request of the mother of the owner of the coffee-shop at which he is a regular. It is sustainable - overheads are covered by the revenues generated by the only sections that charge for postings, brokers that post flat listings and businesses that post job vacancies (to which "erotic services" will soon be added, though with revenue raised going to non-profit organisations). And it is pattern breaking - democratising the paid-for classifieds section of newspapers.

It is this last point that has led to the often hostile reception that Craig has received from traditional media. He is now supporting the burgeoning field of citizen journalism - naming NYULocal, the venture of Reynolds Scholar Cody Brown, as a great example - but which no doubt will endear him even less with the old guard.

But the world is changing, for which Craig can claim some credit in his role as a technology advisor to Team Obama. As is media. And it is Craig that is helping to pave the way.

As Leonard Cohen went on to sing, which no doubt Craig wanted us to recognise....

I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.