Task 1. Thoughts about Craigslist. Check out http://craigslist.org. Spend 5 minutes on the site. Why do you think such a simple website as Craigslist can be so successful?
Here's some more insight into the Craigslist phenomenon. I deleted some words from each text. Once you’ve done putting back the phrases, take notes because next you will need to share your information with the rest of us.
INTRO
in 2006 over 2005; at; monetize; a for-profit entity; bare-bones
Craigslist.org is not really run like a typical company. Craigslist fashions itself more of a public service than, eschewing (=giving up, missing) many opportunities to its user base.
The site is a design and yet draws anyone and everyone for job opportunities. Craigslist has clearly established itself as one of the leading online brands and the dominant presence in the US online classifieds market.
According to Alexa, Craigslist’s traffic is up greater than 5X, as it has expanded its geographic presence to about 200 cities. Over 10M monthly unique visitors and 3B pages views per month, Craigslist is the number 7 ranked site in the US (and 25th globally) according to Alexa. Craigslist is also one of the earliest examples of a site built through word of mouth marketing.
1. CULTURE OF TRUST
a culture of trust; to flag; not in it for the money; major changes to the; into
Craigslist creates around the site in many ways:
--Craig and the Craigslist staff actively respond to user e-mails.
--Craigslist does not make any site without first announcing and testing response from users.
--Craigslist actively user incorporates feedback the product. Craig told me that there has not been any popular suggestion that they have not incorporated into the site.
--There’s no banner advertising on the site, which contributes to the perception that Craigslist is.
--Users are the primary mechanism for filtering inappropriate/miscategorized content. The staff also lightly moderates posts, but for the most part, it is up to the users content.
--Lastly, the .org domain name contributes to a non-profit perception.
2. COMMUNITY AND FUN
foster the sense; their thoughts; is a big understatement; coming back to; the outlandish posts
To characterize Craigslist as just a classifieds site, I would argue that the entertainment value of the site to users is a key aspect to the Craigslist consumer experience. I often peruse (=browse) the site to read in the “Casual Encounters”, “Rants and Raves”, and “Missed Connections” sections. My friends also e-mail me entertaining Craigslist posts from time to time.
These non-commercial sections of the site are important for several reasons. While I rarely post or respond to these sections, they keep me the site even when I am not looking for an apartment or job.
Others find it fulfilling to have a forum to air, thereby giving users a voice in their community. This creates a pattern of usage that is more frequent than buying or selling an item.
Finally, these posts of community and trust that give consumers greater confidence in the commercial-oriented classifieds.
3. SITE EASE OF USE
done a terrific job of; also important in; thereby allowing
Craigslist has removing barriers for users to post and browse the site. Perhaps the key product decision was not requiring user registration, anonymous posting and browsing.
A simple, text-based format was the age of dial-up connections to keep site performance fast. The user self-service site publishing tools are also intuitive and core to the site.
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HISTORY
that particular city; through word of mouth; upcoming tech or art events in
Given that Craigslist initially started as an e-mail distribution list, it was indeed marketed solely – if you can even call it “marketed”.
Craig originally started Craigslist to tell friends about SF. Once the number of people on the list grew too large, Craigslist became a formal website. The content quickly expanded from events to a full range of classifieds.
Craigslist will add a new city to Craigslist when there are enough requests from users to add.
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PROFITS
charging for; 10 times; in; turned down
Craig has many acquisition offers for Craigslist that would by any measure make him a very rich man. Craigslist’s CEO Jim Buckmaster has stated that Craigslist could probably make the revenue it makes today if they tried.
Craigslist is just happy to make a good living for the employees of Craigslist without the need to make an extravagant profit. Craigslist is generating anywhere from $10-20M per year revenue and employs just 19 people. Craigslist makes money by job listings in a few major cities.
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kisdobos 2008.03.04. 18:26:52
By Nisan Gabbay
July 16, 2006
Intro
Craigslist.org is not really run like a typical company. Craigslist fashions itself more of a public service than a for-profit entity, eschewing many opportunities to monetize its user base. However, Craigslist has clearly established itself as one of the leading online brands and the dominant presence in the US online classifieds market. According to Alexa, Craigslist’s traffic is up greater than 5X in 2006 over 2005, as it has expanded its geographic presence to ~200 cities. At over 10M monthly unique visitors and 3B pages views per month, Craigslist is the number 7 ranked site in the US (and 25th globally) according to Alexa. Craigslist is also one of the earliest examples of a site built through word of mouth marketing.
Key success factors
Craigslist became successful largely by following certain guiding principles, rather than by following an explicit strategy. I believe that Craigslist’s success can be boiled down to three key points.
1. Culture of trust
Craigslist creates a culture of trust around the site in many ways:
Craig and the Craigslist staff actively respond to user e-mails.
Craigslist does not make any major changes to the site without first announcing and testing response from users.
Craigslist actively incorporates user feedback into the product. Craig told me that there has not been any popular suggestion that they have not incorporated into the site.
There’s no banner advertising on the site, which contributes to the perception that Craigslist is “not in it for the money”
Users are the primary mechanism for filtering inappropriate/miscategorized content. Craigslist has some mechanisms for preventing the posting of inappropriate content, but for the most part, it is up to the users to flag content.
Lastly, the .org domain name contributes to a non-profit perception.
2. Social aspects of the site are key to driving the commercial aspects
To characterize Craigslist as just a classifieds site is a big understatement. I would argue that the entertainment value of the site to users is a key aspect to the Craigslist consumer experience. I often peruse (=browse) the site to read the outlandish posts in the “Casual Encounters”, “Rants and Raves”, and “Missed Connections” sections. My friends also e-mail me entertaining Craigslist posts from time to time.
These non-commercial sections of the site are important for several reasons. While I rarely post or respond to these sections, they keep me coming back to the site even when I am not looking for an apartment or job.
Others find it fulfilling to have a forum to air their thoughts, thereby giving users a voice in their community. This creates a pattern of usage that is more frequent than buying or selling an item.
Finally, these posts foster the sense of community and trust that give consumers greater confidence in the commercial-oriented classifieds.
3. Site ease of use
Craigslist has done a terrific job of removing barriers for users to post and browse the site. Perhaps the key product decision was not requiring user registration, thereby allowing anonymous posting and browsing.
A simple, text-based format was also important in the age of dial-up connections to keep site performance fast. The user self-service site publishing tools are also intuitive and core to the site.
History
Given that Craigslist initially started as an e-mail distribution list, it was indeed marketed solely through word of mouth – if you can even call it “marketed”.
Craig originally started Craigslist to tell friends about upcoming tech or art events in SF. Once the number of people on the list grew too large, Craigslist became a formal website. The content quickly expanded from events to a full range of classifieds.
Craigslist will add a new city to Craigslist when there are enough requests from users to add that particular city.
Profits
Craig has turned down many acquisition offers for Craigslist that would by any measure make him a very rich man. Craigslist’s CEO Jim Buckmaster has stated that Craigslist could probably make 10 times the revenue it makes today if they tried.
Craigslist is just happy to make a good living for the employees of Craigslist without the need to make an extravagant profit. Craigslist is generating anywhere from $10-20M per year in revenue and employs just 19 people. Craigslist makes money by charging for job listings in a few major cities.
www.startup-review.com/blog/craigslist-case-study.php