5 ms·

Has Craiglist Flatlined?

15 points by a5seo 16y ago

simonk 16y ago
They also are really pushing international sites onto their own domain. If I put in vancouver.craigslist.org it shoots me over to the .ca domain name. Mexico goes to .com.mx and so on.
rorrr 16y ago
Craigslist doesn't innovate. It's full of spam and scams. It's not that convenient to use. They are only alive because they are popular, not because they are good.
- Avshalom 16y ago
  It's a classified service it only works if there are lots of people using it. Popular is Good in that niche.
- forkandwait 16y ago
  No, Craigslist is more convenient and better than any other thing like it, because they refused to listen to every idiot that told them they need to be more innovative, or that they should fill up their space with ads and "user interface". Their infrastructure is rock solid. What should they be doing different?
  - awt 16y ago
    Would be cool if they let me mark items I'm interested in so I can come back to them later.
    - hyperbovine 16y ago
      Ctrl-B.
      - awt 16y ago
        Well that's obvious, right? But that's an inferior solution to CL supporting bookmarking. Why would I want to clutter up my Browser with temporary CL bookmarks that I will have to delete at a later time? Not good UX.
- hyperbovine 16y ago
  It's incredibly convenient. The people I know who have been scammed on it were all trying believe in something that was too good to be true. If by "doesn't innovate" you mean "doesn't 'upgrade' their interface to the latest Web 9.0 technologies every six months," that too is a selling point for everyone except the edge cases who populate HN et al. When I go to Craigslist I see the same familiar, endearingly cluttered interface that's been there since I was in my teens. The search bar is conveniently located up top, it's fast, and it works. When I go to one of their competitors I see a bunch of corporate logos and some bullshit like "Experience an open marketplace powered by Vast." You're telling me this is better? Oh wait, it has check-in!
Xurinos 16y ago
Weird. I still go to Craigslist for local listings and jobs. Is this just FUD?
- garyrichardson 16y ago
  I'd say so. It's all I ever use for buying/selling. Already had two big hits for xmas presents. I haven't even heard of the other ones listed in the article.
ScottBurson 16y ago
"Craigslist", not "Craiglist".
entreprenewb 16y ago
I find the suggestion in the headline less interesting than the wave shapes from July '09 to July '10. Any insights here?
- jamesbkel 16y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
  - util 16y ago
    I guess apophenia's alway ironic when there really is a pattern because then you'd have meta-apophenia? (It seems it'd be surprising if there weren't seasonal effects, eg, students looking for a place to live. I almost feel like you can see a peak each July -- I probably do really have apophenia here.)
stretchwithme 16y ago
There's a difference between flatlining and reaching the peak.
gallerytungsten 16y ago
I think we're seeing the effect of them removing the "adult" ads.
forkandwait 16y ago
"Flatlined" means "dead" in common parlance, not "holding steady as the absolute ruler in classified ad space". Idiots.
trotsky 16y ago
and some might argue, stifling innovation because of their unwillingness to monetize You get water for free* from your tap but that didn't stop marketers from convincing everyone to pay $2 a liter or more for it. Good for Newmark for taking the road less traveled, I doubt they are in danger of losing their crown any time soon.
joshu 16y ago
So, I've been crawling Craigslist for a while. It does appear that it is slowing down somewhat.
util 16y ago
What does overall US internet usage look like over the same period?

15 points by a5seo 16y ago

They also are really pushing international sites onto their own domain. If I put in vancouver.craigslist.org it shoots me over to the .ca domain name. Mexico goes to .com.mx and so on.

rorrr 16y ago

Craigslist doesn't innovate. It's full of spam and scams. It's not that convenient to use. They are only alive because they are popular, not because they are good.

Avshalom 16y ago
It's a classified service it only works if there are lots of people using it. Popular is Good in that niche.
forkandwait 16y ago
No, Craigslist is more convenient and better than any other thing like it, because they refused to listen to every idiot that told them they need to be more innovative, or that they should fill up their space with ads and "user interface". Their infrastructure is rock solid. What should they be doing different?
- awt 16y ago
  Would be cool if they let me mark items I'm interested in so I can come back to them later.
  - hyperbovine 16y ago
    Ctrl-B.
    - awt 16y ago
      Well that's obvious, right? But that's an inferior solution to CL supporting bookmarking. Why would I want to clutter up my Browser with temporary CL bookmarks that I will have to delete at a later time? Not good UX.
hyperbovine 16y ago
It's incredibly convenient. The people I know who have been scammed on it were all trying believe in something that was too good to be true. If by "doesn't innovate" you mean "doesn't 'upgrade' their interface to the latest Web 9.0 technologies every six months," that too is a selling point for everyone except the edge cases who populate HN et al. When I go to Craigslist I see the same familiar, endearingly cluttered interface that's been there since I was in my teens. The search bar is conveniently located up top, it's fast, and it works. When I go to one of their competitors I see a bunch of corporate logos and some bullshit like "Experience an open marketplace powered by Vast." You're telling me this is better? Oh wait, it has check-in!

Xurinos 16y ago

Weird. I still go to Craigslist for local listings and jobs. Is this just FUD?

garyrichardson 16y ago
I'd say so. It's all I ever use for buying/selling. Already had two big hits for xmas presents. I haven't even heard of the other ones listed in the article.

ScottBurson 16y ago

"Craigslist", not "Craiglist".

entreprenewb 16y ago

I find the suggestion in the headline less interesting than the wave shapes from July '09 to July '10. Any insights here?

jamesbkel 16y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
- util 16y ago
  I guess apophenia's alway ironic when there really is a pattern because then you'd have meta-apophenia? (It seems it'd be surprising if there weren't seasonal effects, eg, students looking for a place to live. I almost feel like you can see a peak each July -- I probably do really have apophenia here.)

stretchwithme 16y ago

There's a difference between flatlining and reaching the peak.

gallerytungsten 16y ago

I think we're seeing the effect of them removing the "adult" ads.

forkandwait 16y ago

"Flatlined" means "dead" in common parlance, not "holding steady as the absolute ruler in classified ad space". Idiots.

trotsky 16y ago

and some might argue, stifling innovation because of their unwillingness to monetize You get water for free* from your tap but that didn't stop marketers from convincing everyone to pay $2 a liter or more for it. Good for Newmark for taking the road less traveled, I doubt they are in danger of losing their crown any time soon.

joshu 16y ago

So, I've been crawling Craigslist for a while. It does appear that it is slowing down somewhat.

util 16y ago

What does overall US internet usage look like over the same period?