My dining companions were frustrated particularly by:
- Lack of upgrades/updates to UI
- Lack of duplicate post filtering
- Lack of community reputation system
- Lack of comment/participation system
- Poor monetization
- Poor depth of information
- Poor archiving
The quote that stands out in my mind was:
"So what if someone has to write a $100 million dollar check to take that market from them - if it's profitable to do so in the long run, it's going to happen. And if it's $200 million or $400 million, it will still happen."What are your thoughts? Could Microsoft win with Expo? Could a new player eventually steal the market? Will Craig and the crew ever take up the challenge? Are there barriers to entry that permit them to operate such an inefficient organization for now?
"If it ain't broke...".
I think I'm going to go on a crusade against this exact phrase. We live and operate in the web world, where every movement can be tracked, every change measured and every opportunity or cost examined.
How can we say "if it ain't broke" knowing that there's potential for improvement. If you're not striving for perfection, especially in the online space, you're defeating yourself in the long run.
Barriers to entry simply aren't high enough and market share is really too valuable to allow for this type of thinking. None of us rest on our own laurels in our businesses, right? How can we say that it's OK for Craigslist, knowing full well the dominance they could have. I see CL as a great thing, a fantastic idea that has never taken off - it could be ebay or Google but instead, it's exactly what it was years ago - the power of the community has never been truly tapped, and it saddens me, even as I love to use the site.
Ouch! Who peed in your Corn Flakes?
I absolutely get what you are saying but there is a tendency to overwork web sites. There is really only 3 tiers of development - basic DIY amature stuff, learning, and pro corp. CL is in the midle but I don't think it's by accident. It's what appeals to their users.
Maybe a better way to put it is that it's "broken just right". If CL went to a super-slick corp site like the new live.com they'd scare off a large percentage of their market.
CL has managed to capture the spirit and essence of the printed classifieds on screen. That is no easy task! Part of the fun of classifieds is digging through and seeing what other crap is out there you may be interested in!
BTW you gotta get that "remember me" thing working... it's broken just wrong.
I bet if they put a banner from CJ at the bottom of every page or a CPM banner - they could eliminate the charging for job postings.
I agree Miles - Charging for job posting is so 2001.
My take on Craig is that they are too scared to change their format. In fact aside from charging me to list a job posting (dumb, dumb, and dumb) I cannot think of one single experience improving innovation from them in 2005.
For a prime example of fixing something that "ain't broke" in the name of "knowing full well the dominance they could have" and ending up ruining what they had, see Friendster.
I think what makes Craigslist so successful is that it has a base of regular users that share this value of "anti-corporationism". The users that made this site popular wouldn't use this site if it were a huge money-making machine. It is, nevertheless, serving its purpose, attracting new users, and maintaining dominance. I suppose at some point you ask yourself which is better, less money/good image, or selling out.
[SPAM REMOVED]
What do you think folks? Should we ban him?
You know, I saw that early this morning and thought "Well they went through the sign-up to post this, well they have some balls" - lol
Ahh, yes a ban in necessary. I also want to say that I really appreciate the quality of the recent postings here and have started visiting here more than (insert gasp) Threadwatch. Which is a big deal from someone who considers herself a Threadwatch Addict. Is there a support group for that?
Being UGLY and BUSTED is CL's charm! If it wasn't that ugly it wouldn't be CL. If they stuck up adsense or a CPM Banner(yeech - those still exist?) would change the whole landscape. My girlfriend, sisters, aunts, and technophobe friends ALL love CL. They love it because it is free and has a great userbase. Giving it a pretty face, intuitive navigation, and a monetization scheme would take the fun, grungy feel out of it. They do have a decent 'Spam' community policing system that does a fine job. Sure there are dupe posts, Hookers looking for a date, and people pumping ebay auctions. But not so many that it effects the experience too badly.
Now don't get me wrong, I am a Capitalist and if I owned CL's it would be very different and I would be a VERY VERY VERY rich man.
But I think Craig is happy to have his little peice of fame, has PLENTY of money in his pocket, and an open invite to any geek gathering on the planet. Kudos to him for being satisfied with that. I mean really what difference does 10M or 200M make? Either way you can pick up the beer tab for your buddies, go anywhere on a whim, buy your momma a new set of steak knives and enjoy life.
It is what it is. It is dangerous to mess with it's charm. I of course love to mess with things, but I can see why Craig is very very nervous about it.
It is Broke. And I totally agree with Rand - If you can squeeze out an extra 0.001% conversion - get do it. Your job is not done and it IS broke.
What's with all that white space at the bottom of the Expo homepage?
I have to wonder if the clutter isn't deliberate. I mean it is classified ads. I think they do a great job matching the offline world with what they present online. Classified ads are something you must force the viewer to dig through to find what they are looking for. This makes the ad service more valueable as it ensures more eyeballs per ad than if they did a clean, sleek layout per *our* design sensibilities.
Craig's List could certainly benefit from an objective SWOT Analysis. Do they understand the opportunities and threats that exist in their marketplace? I hope that the answer is yes, and that they have an intelligent long-range strategy in their back pocket that will enable them to adapt quickly to a market shift and remain competitive.
Perhaps they are simply holding their cards close to their chest, poised to surprise us all!
If it ain't broke...
They found something that works. Now that competition is coming thaings will probably change. But they are at that threshold of becoming a big company that has to look the part and that can be a frightening step. I think they are going to stay true to their core as much as they can and that means implementing change slowly and resisting every step.
It's what their customers want.
I see the success of Craig's List as a homage to its simplicity, and an appeal that focuses upon its utility. sense of community, and a desire to remain mostly noncommercial.
How much of that might they lose if they started messing with a model that seems to work pretty well as it is?
3 Billion page views a month is a pretty good stat, with a staff of 19 people. The factsheet has some other eyeopening numbers:
https://www.craigslist.org/about/pr/factsheet....
Until just now, I always thought Craigslist was a website that was accidently created by someone in their early 20's or late teens even, that has taken off way beyond their control. I got that impression solely on how the webpage looks and interacts. I definately see the value in the website, but I can rarely find anything that I'm looking for on there. It needs a serious face lift if its going to stay ahead of the game.
I've found craigslist to be VERY useful. Through craigslist I found my current job, car, and apartment. I agree that the look of craigslist is pretty bad, but it doesn't get in the way of finding things.
Extremely useful site but U.G.L.Y. A few changes here and there wouldn't hurt both in site design and organization.
I do agree that if it isn't broke - don't fix it. But what happens when a competitor "breaks" your business model, then it's time to do some fixing up! I think craigs list is a perfect example of web 2.0 concepts regarding community, but lacks in all other aspects such as design and monetization.
This being said, maybe simplicity is what makes CL do well. Isn't it ironic that now the things that work are simplicty, it's almost like we've reverted back to BBS type concepts.
I agree with the "If it ain't broke...". I love Craigslist for the useful factor (and simplicity) and visit the site multiple times a week. I think any changes would turn off it's core audience.... however speaking of "Do they understand the opportunities and threats that exist in their marketplace?" See this article on MySpace Classified Ads (Please note that I am an avid Myspace user as well).
Imagine the revenue if they just put AdSense on the site? Sheesh...