Craigslist founder's simple philosophy: Listen to people.
At virtually no cost, Craig can help you with almost anything you might need, want or need to get rid of. So who is this creative problem-solving man?
It’s a Web site, actually, founded by Craig Newmark.
On Monday and Tuesday, Newmark will visit Columbia for the first time and will be the key speaker at the Business Showcase luncheon sponsored by the Tiger Institute. The luncheon will be Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center.
When asked about what to expect or thoughts about visiting the state of Missouri for the first time, Newmark said: “I don’t have many expectations. I do know that the journalism school there has a very good reputation. That’s all I know.”
During an interview, Newmark discussed the development of Craigslist, which now assists people worldwide with classified ads and forums. It is community-moderated and serves 70 countries in six different languages.
“I started off in 1995 e-mailing, let’s say, 10 to 12 friends about what I thought were the cool events in all of the arts and technology (in San Francisco),” Newmark said. “Word spread around. People kept showing up.”
During the years, people kept suggesting more events and topics to add to the list-serve. Newmark’s philosophy is simple: “It’s just a matter of listening to people,” he said. “I added what they sent, and then people suggested more, and I added that.”
By 1999, Craigslist was making a profit. Jim Buckmaster was appointed CEO in late 2000, and Newmark now works as a customer service representative.
“It keeps me in contact with what’s real among members of our community,” he said. “In particular, I see how we help people help each other out and how this alleviates human suffering, if only a little.”
Newmark’s wit and proactive attitude have made him a key player in the Internet world as well as the philanthropic community. “It is important to help [organizations that] already have a reasonable idea of what they’re doing because good intentions are not enough,” he said.
Using the Internet as a means to increase impact is something Newmark highly supports. One organization he works closely with on the advisory board is Donors Choose. With this online charity, people can contribute small or large amounts of money to help children in the classrooms.
“I’m involved in a number of organizations, which are using the Internet to do useful things for people, things we could always do,” Newmark said. “The deal is now that they’re more effective and broader on the Internet. They involve efforts where people can work together for bigger ends.”
Outside of the business world, Newmark keeps a very entertaining and expressively honest blog. No topic is too trivial or too big to discuss. You can keep up with his political views and technology updates, view randomly posted pictures of events in his daily life and videos from business trips and follow the birds living in his backyard.
“I don’t know how it happened, but I do love birds,” Newmark said. “There’s a whole bunch visiting [my home] right now. I have a few books and have identified a bunch of species.”
Among the everyday blog writing, he also enjoys casual conversation time in coffee shops with friends. According to his blog, Café Reverie is his favorite café in San Francisco. “It’s a real neighborhood café: dogs and babies and good coffee,” Newmark said. He has visited the café for about 10 years now, and his favorite drink on the menu is the nonfat latte.
“I watch TV; I like TV,” Newmark said. Fancying The Simpsons and The Colbert Report, he also has joined the thousands of LOST fanatics tuning into the final season. So far he’s really enjoying the season but “would like more quantum physics” in the storyline. That might not be everyone’s wish, but he does agree that he has no predictions for the ending: “I’m hoping it’s good.”
As far as the direction he sees for the Internet in 2010, Newmark has a lot of expectations. “I think this year we are going to see a lot happening,” he said. “For example, I do think this year we’re going to see a more important role of trust and reputation … online. I think that’s going to affect journalism in a really big way.”
With simple ideas, the simplicity of networking and the simple notion that you just have to listen to people, Newmark has revolutionized the way people communicate online. He does agree, though, that it is not foolproof.
“In life, offline and online, we’ve got to rely on people we trust for opinions and information,” he said. “Well, time and trustworthy stuff is a challenge. There are people out there who will make stuff up; there are people out there who will forget to do fact checking, and we need a way to fix that. I think we’re going to begin to get serious about that stuff this year.”
To order tickets to the fireside chat and luncheon with Craig Newmark, visit www.tinyurl.com/CraigLunch or the events section of www.ColumbiaMoChamber.com. General tickets are $34.99, and tickets for club seating with Craig are $99.99.