I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but what the heck. I had to laugh when I saw the diary on Craigslist was No. 1 on the recommended list. Really, what's not to like -- especially here at Daily Kos -- about a company that tells "greed" to take a hike, and offers you a valuable service for free, leaving untold millions in potential profits on the table?
Unless, of course, you're one of thousands of hardworking mid-career Americans threatened with losing their jobs because of the ECONOMIC INSANITY that is Craigslist. I wrote about it last night on my own blog, Attytood. Warning: The intent was somewhat tongue-in-cheek...well, not totally.
Here's some of what I wrote: A reminder that there's two sides to every coin:
The American newspaper is being assassinated by "a lone nut."
And we're going to tell you the name of that lone nut:
Craig Newmark of Craigslist (not pictured above) -- a man whose altruistic vision of running a business to NOT maximize profits is now threatening the livelyhood of thousands of working men and women across this country, your neighbors who work at and publish your local newspaper, jobs that were once supported by the classified ads that have migrated to the most free (or low-cost) Craigslist.
If you've read the earlier diary, you know that the CEO of Newmark's company, Jim Buckmaster, tried to explain to a room of stunned Wall Street analysts how his company not only doesn't charge most customers for its classified ad network -- which has cost the newspaper industry millions and played a role in the layoffs sweeping the country -- but won't even cash in on text ads, a move that would earn millions with causing major pain for its customers.
This was our also tongue-in-cheek -- but not totally -- solution:
They want a "persuasive answer"? OK, here's one. If you won't charge customers for ads, and apparently you won't, then at least start accepting those text ads, and funnel those millions of dollars into the newly formed Craig's Foundation. And what will be the main benefactor of this new foundation? A scholarship fund, to pay for the college education of the dozens of displaced journalists across America losing their jobs everyday (like here and here). And if there's any cash left, how about building a retirement home for any newspaper folks who might somehow see a diminished pension down the road?
In the meantime, I think every journalist who's a threatened victim of layoffs should be sure to send Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster a holiday card this year, including a family photo, and let them know how we're doing in 2006. After all, even a "lone nut" should see who his victims are.
Look, I've written dozens of times -- and I think most DK readers would agree -- that the biggest culprit in the decline of American newspapers is...American newspapers, way too slow to adapt to the Internet and still clinging to outmoded ideas about many things, including the false mantle of objectivity.
And Craigslist is doing nothing wrong: Merely working the system to offer lower (or no) prices to millions of consumers who want them, even though it means putting many good people who've done business in an older-fashioned way out of work.
And so on that level, Craigslist looks a little like another American company that's soooo popular with Daily Kos readers: Wal-Mart.
My one serious point is this: There's no such thing as a free lunch in America. Craig Newmark can use his newfangled technology to give you free classified ads, but when you stopped paying for them in the newspaper, the thing that began to suffer was local journalism. Most newspapers already have fewer journalists covering your corrupt local politicians and school boards than they did a few years ago, and the rest are following suit.
EVERY story has two sides: Even a "feel-good" story like Craigslist.
Now, flame away!