Craigslist is a force of nature, an amazing thing. So is a tornado and a virtual funnel cloud hit Robert Salisbury in Oregon recently when someone posted a bogus ad on the local Craigslist saying he had suddenly moved away and everything on his property was free for the taking… even his horse.
As he drove toward his place he stopped multiple vehicles laden with his stuff and asked for it back… “no way” was the response. “Craigslist said it was free… end of discussion.” He’s working with the police and lawyers to sort through the aftermath now. As the Seattle Times reports…
Meanwhile, Salisbury could not even relax on his porch swing.
Someone took it.
This amazing tale illustrates one of many risks associated with using anonymous online services.
Front Porch Forum, on the other hand, is limited to conversation among clearly identified nearby neighbors.
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A detailed posting about Smalltown.com‘s status today including its acquisition of Local2me.com… worth a read (comments too for a little fun).
While I’m uncertain if Smalltown’s approach has enough juice to keep people tuned in (it’s a souped up yellow pages with some social networking running through it), I am fascinated by their authentically local approach… town by town growth with real people on the ground.
Greg Sterling reports on his interview with Craig Newmark today… lots of good stuff. I like this point because coincidentally we’ve been saying the same thing about Front Porch Forum…
Newmark said that “In the race between tortoise and hare, we’re the tortoise.” And he described the site’s now 12-year history as one of “slow, continuous, undramatic growth.”
Of course, craigslist is now in about 450 cities (50 more coming soon) and Kevin Abramson reports…
With 20 million monthly local visitors, Craigslist is the 28th largest Web domain in the U.S., according to Nielsen//NetRatings. And while the company does not disclose revenues, it will rake in an estimated $150 million in 2007. Not bad for a organization with 25 employees.
A fascinating article in the New York Times was brought to my attention today (thanks Hubert) about Babajob.com…
Babajob, by contrast, connects India’s elites to the poor at their doorsteps, people who need jobs but lack the connections to find them. Job seekers advertise skills, employers advertise jobs and matches are made through social networks.
Cameron Ferroni of Marchex wrote today about the special place Craigslist holds for him…
… it really boils down to the fact that the simplicity of the experience and the personal nature of the interactions make this stand head and shoulder above any other online service of its type. For those of us in the industry we would do well to take this to heart – and maybe, just maybe, spend less time worried about our slick UI, our SEO strategies, and our mapping technology, and spend more time worried about the specific value proposition for users.
Some of our members compare Front Porch Forum to Craigslist along these points… simple and extremely effective on a few fronts… period. We get lots of interesting suggestions for new features and we’ve implemented some and will add others over time… but I’m excited to stay true to our initial premise of “simple and effective.”
TechCrunch writes today about Zilok.com, a French start up now in the United States that facilitates people renting stuff from strangers… kind of like eBay, but you get the things back. The comments mention several competitors doing the same thing.
Front Porch Forum sees a lot of exchanges like this among nearby neighbors, but without the rental fee. We like to call it “borrowing something from the neighbor.” Some readers with long memories may remember such a practice from days of yore. And, while borrowing, you actually get to know the people who live around you a little better. Gadzooks!
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more