Insider Chatter by Donna Bogatin

Craig Newmark, of Craigslist fame, shared with me today that sometimes it feels that his life is just like a “sitcom.”

Craig is on an extended New York City sojurn. He addressed the Social Media Club last Thursday and is speaking at the Japan Society tomorrow about ”Digital Social Responsibility.” In between, I met with him this morning at a not-quite-San Francisco style NYC outdoor cafe: A heavy on the concrete Au Bon Pain “garden” outpost in midtown Manhattan.

I hoped to share one of the secret treasures of midtown Manhattan with Craig, a real (beautiful) United Nations garden overlooking Manhattan’s East River. However, not only does the UN garden entry now require a security process akin to checking in at the airport, the “oasis” also apparently adheres to (old school) banking hours!

Regardless of the environment, it is always a pleasure to chat with Craig, about Craigslist, and life.

During our wide ranging discussion, we spoke about how negativity fuels a big part of big media work. Why is that so? Craig suggested that what gets people’s attention is “anger or comedy.” Craig quickly added, “my life is a sitcom!” We all tend to exaggerate for comedy relief, Craig said.

While all our lives may be like sitcoms, Craigslist strives for creating a “culture of trust” at Craigslist, the “online flea market.” A neighborhood flea market is as much about socializing as it is about commerce, Craig underscored. Craiglsist moves the commerce as social experience to the Web, Craig noted.

“What connects people on Craiglsist is the expectation of real human interaction,” Craig told me. The experience is not just like real life, but it aims to be a personal, genuine and authentic experience, mediated through technology.

As such, Craigslist “customers” have a sesnse that they are dealing with real people on a human basis, as opposed to a corporate basis, Craig indicated. Corporations can be impersonal, or they try to be personal, but it sometimes comes off in a phony way, Craig said.

Craig, of course, is enthusiastic about the personal empowerment that the Internet enables. “The Internet is everyone’s printing press, where the cost of entry is zero,” Craig said. Moreover, a good blogging tool requires “no technology knowledge.”

Since everone has a voice now, the challenge is finding what you want to read, Craig underscored. The democratization of media not only brings more “good stuff,” but more “bad stuff” as well, he noted.

Craig sees parallels between today’s “truth to power” blogging world and the time of Tom Paine’s “common sense,” citing Daily Kos and Instapundit as modern day successors.

Organized religion also is an effective form of social media, serving to bring people together for shared experiences in communal settings, Craig suggested.

Craiglsist, of course, is driven by the notion of community. I asked Craig though how the desire of some to use “assumed identities” within his community may impact the overall community experience.

That is where Craig’s primary role of ”Customer Service Representative” at Craiglist comes into play. Craig told me that while the overall percentage of people engaging in “bad” behaviour at Craiglsist is “small,” it nevertheless represents a big “headache” for him, and he seeks to mitigate as necessary.

How committed is Craig to “serving customers” at Craiglist? He shared at the Social Media Club last week that he is dedicated to serving as Craigslist “Customer Service Representative” forever, literally.

Craig’s stance on Craiglsist? For Craig, “the exit strategy is death.”

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN