3 ms·

You miss the point of Craigslist. Sure, being online, persistent and searchable makes it superior to newspaper classifieds. But the real killer was that it was

You miss the point of Craigslist. Sure, being online, persistent and searchable makes it superior to newspaper classifieds. But the real killer was that it was free. This meant it was easier to set up the 2 sided market. Folks were posting because there was no reason not to. This is what progress looks like, for better or worse. Someone takes an existing process/product/service and does it better and or cheaper. This opens up new economic opportunities because it lowers the barriers for entry into the market for sellers. They replace the incumbents but they don’t have the same revenue as the incumbents because they’re doing it for cheaper. Craigslist revenue was barely a fraction of what local papers were making.

subpixel 4y ago
Craigslist had both free and paid categories, and I believe at its peak revenues would have supported the investments I'm imagining - especially in second and third tier markets. By the time these ideas came to me, most of these papers were on their knees, and already making hard cuts.
- nindalf 4y ago
  That’s an extraordinary claim. Perhaps you’d back that up with some numbers?
  - subpixel 4y ago
    In 2008 Craigslist was worth $5 billion with revenues around $80 million. I worked for newspapers with losses on $1-5 million revenues. There were tons of investment opportunities and the publishers were up against a wall. Again not saying this was necessarily smart business but this is a fantasy remember?
    - nindalf 4y ago
      A few newspapers making a few million in losses? Well, America has lost almost 1,800 papers since 2004, including more than 60 dailies and 1,700 weeklies. (Source: https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/loss-of-local-news/loss-newspapers-readers/ https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/...) So if each newspaper needed just $500k to stay afloat, we’re talking almost a billion dollars. Craigslist was making a tenth of that in revenue, according to you. Their profit was a fraction of that. I’m not criticising your dream. I’m criticising the people who advocate for this position in real life. “Tax/regulate tech! That’ll solve everything!”

subpixel 4y ago

Craigslist had both free and paid categories, and I believe at its peak revenues would have supported the investments I'm imagining - especially in second and third tier markets. By the time these ideas came to me, most of these papers were on their knees, and already making hard cuts.

nindalf 4y ago
That’s an extraordinary claim. Perhaps you’d back that up with some numbers?
- subpixel 4y ago
  In 2008 Craigslist was worth $5 billion with revenues around $80 million. I worked for newspapers with losses on $1-5 million revenues. There were tons of investment opportunities and the publishers were up against a wall. Again not saying this was necessarily smart business but this is a fantasy remember?
  - nindalf 4y ago
    A few newspapers making a few million in losses? Well, America has lost almost 1,800 papers since 2004, including more than 60 dailies and 1,700 weeklies. (Source: https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/loss-of-local-news/loss-newspapers-readers/ https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/...) So if each newspaper needed just $500k to stay afloat, we’re talking almost a billion dollars. Craigslist was making a tenth of that in revenue, according to you. Their profit was a fraction of that. I’m not criticising your dream. I’m criticising the people who advocate for this position in real life. “Tax/regulate tech! That’ll solve everything!”