Site takes steps to make sure authorities can trace those posting ads
Bloomberg Nov 6, 08 4:57 PM CST
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Craigslist agreed today to crack down on prostitutes using the site to drum up business, Bloomberg reports. The online ad service agreed with 40 states to require that anyone who advertises in its notorious “erotic services” section submit a valid phone number and pay a small fee via credit card. The information could be turned over to police if requested.
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Website offers curious users directions
to getting lucky
Wired Oct 26, 08 5:30 CDT
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In what may be the most opportunistic mashup ever, a web entrepreneur is putting a bold spin on the modern hookup, reports Wired . A new website scans the anything-goes "Casual Encounters" section of Craigslist, then integrates the postings with Google Maps, designating the locations of random horny strangers with tiny hearts.
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Craigslist may have been used to solicit decoys
Seattle Times Oct 1, 08 6:49 PM CDT
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A crafty robber escaped on an inner-tube this morning after pepper-spraying an armored-car guard outside a bank in Monroe, Wash., the Seattle Times reports. The thief may also have used Craigslist to solicit unwitting decoys, asking them to show up near the scene in attire like his. It was a “fairly well-planned” robbery, police say.
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Keeping users on site by enabling links to Netflix, Craigslist is goal
San Francisco Chronicle Sep 12, 08 12:04 PM CDT
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After struggling through months of takeover battles and sagging stock prices, Yahoo says it’s working to become a web destination for users rather than simply a jumping-off point, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It plans to add third-party content and newly developed applications on a new Yahoo home page, allowing users to access sites like Netflix without leaving.
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Unauthorized vendors in China, US offer uncertified Boeing, Airbus hardware
BusinessWeek Jun 4, 08 10:20 CDT
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Spare Boeing and Airbus parts of dubious origin have been found for sale on Internet sites such as Craiglist, BusinessWeek reports. The parts, including vital valves and gears, are being sold by at least 24 vendors—mainly in China and the US—without FAA approval or documentation that they've been inspected for airworthiness.
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Partnership with Oodle.com seen as challenge to Craigslist
CNET Jun 3, 08 2:58 PM CDT
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Wal-Mart is testing a new service, cNet reports: free online classified ads. The big-box retailer launched the site last week, in partnership with start-up Oodle.com, and offers more than 40 million listings, featuring seven categories, in major US cities.
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Most popular sites visited by mobile users don't track with hits from home, office PCs
BusinessWeek Jun 1, 08 10:44 CDT
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Mobile web surfers are turning conventional wisdom on its head by traveling to a different constellation of sites than those visited from workday PCs, BusinessWeek reports. The “Weekend Web” relies not on Google, Yahoo, and MySpace, but rather on Craigslist, eBay, the Weather Channel and MapQuest—and don't think tech-industry and marketing giants aren't noticing.
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Fires back with unfair competition
New York Times May 14, 08 9:40 CDT
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The battle between Craigslist and eBay heated up yesterday after Craigslist filed a countersuit charging the auction giant—which holds a 28.4% stake in Craigslist—with offenses ranging from unfair competition to trademark infringement, the New York Times reports. The action is in response to eBay’s lawsuit filed last month, and is being driven by eBay’s launch of its own classified listings, Kijiji.com.
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While eponymous site battles eBay, Newmark turns to public service, Obama campaign
New York Times May 12, 08 10:40 CDT
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Everyone knows Craigslist, but Craig himself is getting a little restless. Craig Newmark is spending more time and money on outside projects, the New York Times reports, even with his company in a high-profile tiff with eBay. Newmark, 55, says he spends half his time on customer-service issues, the other half on public-service projects and causes like Barack Obama's campaign.
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It diluted auction giant's shares, triggering last week's lawsuit
New York Times May 1, 08 5:10 PM CDT
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Why did eBay sue Craigslist last week? Craiglist's fear of a hostile takeover played a role, the New York Times reports. The relationship between the classified ads site and minority shareholder eBay began to sour after eBay launched rival site Kijiji. Craigslist’s directors smelled a takeover in the offing and reorganized their stock to reduce the auction giant’s holding from 28.04% to 24.85%. EBay lost its right to elect a director—and sued.
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Online culture clash heads for court
New York Times Apr 23, 08 3:15 CDT
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The uneasy relationship between Craigslist and eBay, its competitor-turned-minority shareholder, has taken a turn for the worse. EBay has filed a lawsuit against Craigslist, accusing the classified ad site of "unfairly" diluting the auction giant's stake in it by 10%, the New York Times reports. Craigslist has fired back, calling eBay "unethical" and accusing it of aiming for a hostile takeover.
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Court sees violation of fair housing laws
Los Angeles Times Apr 4, 08 7:10 CDT
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Roommates.com is violating fair-housing laws by asking users their gender, sexual preference, and whether they have children, and using that information to match them, a US Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. Judges said such questions would be illegal if a real estate agent asked them over the phone and don't "magically become lawful when asked electronically," the Los Angeles Times reports.
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John responds to prostitute's pitch, gets held up at gunpoint
San Jose Mercury News Feb 27, 08 3:36 PM CST
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A California man who responded to a Craigslist ad for a prostitute got hit over the head and carjacked instead. The 23-year-old went to a house listed in the ad and started to return to his truck when no one answered the door. Two armed men then took his money and keys, hit him with the butt of a shotgun, and drove away in his truck, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
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Advertised 'freelance' job was to 'eradicate' wife of woman's lover
Associated Press Jan 27, 08 5:32 PM CST
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A Michigan woman posted a job on Craigslist last year to murder her lover's wife, the FBI announced yesterday. Ann Marie Linscott, 49, put up a generic "freelance" ad but asked responders to "eradicate a female living in Oroville, California" for $5,000. "I've seen some screwy things, but I've personally never heard of anything like this," an FBI agent said.
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Donation to Berkeley
is largest ever for classified-ad giant
San Jose Mercury News Jan 18, 08 8:44 PM CST
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Internet mainstay Craigslist is giving $1.6 million to help the University of California-Berkeley set up a faculty chair devoted to new media, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The gift will help create a setting "where scholars and students can explore the powerful effect of new media and think rigorously about how new media will continue to change our lives," Berkeley's chancellor said.
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