Larry Magid had the opportunity to speak with Craig in Craig's apartment in San Francisco.
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Craig Newmark is the founder and now a customer-service representative of Craig's List. In 1995, he was sending his friends in San Francisco e-mail messages with lists of local events. With their encouragement, this became Craig's List, which has now expanded to Boston, Seattle, New York and 19 other regions. Nine years later, Craig's List now gets 500 million page views and 4 million unique visitors every month. The staff numbers 14, and the site runs on about 30 Linux boxes. Craig says his success is based on "a culture of trust." When I asked about his business model, he just laughed.
A self-described nerd, Craig has become somewhat of an international celebrity. He has been asked by San Francisco mayor-elect Gavin Newsom to join the mayor's transition team. "In San Francisco City, people have given up because they seem to feel that their leadership has told them that it doesn't matter if they're doing a good job. It doesn't matter that much if they get things done." Craig's mission -- should he decide to accept it -- is to recommend how the use of computer systems and the Internet can better serve the public. "So far, it looks pretty good," he says.
And coming soon to a theatre near you -- no kidding -- "24 Hours on Craig's List." That's right -- the movie! Look for it to premiere at South by Southwest or the San Francisco International Film Festival.
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