Craigslist vs. EveryBlock? UC Berkeley New Media Case Study
The Internet is STILL the (as yet not completely tamed) Wild, Wild West!
Craigslist, hailed by the University of California, Berekeley, as “one of the most popular Web sites in the world,” donated $1.6 million to the university’s Center For New Media this week to help try and sort things out.
SEE: Craigslist Q & A: Craig Newmark Philanthropy Matches Google’s Page and Brin
The director of the Center, UC Berkeley engineering professor Ken Goldberg, on compatibility with Craigslist: “We share interests in research areas such as privacy, reputation, trust, access.”
ACCESS? The shared Berkeley-Craigslist “research interest” can be explored via a perfect case study for application of some of Craigslist’s $1.6 million: A real world Craigslist example!
I analyzed yesterday, EveryBlock Tests Craigslist RSS Feed Generosity: Missed Connection?, pointing out issues of open Web access to information in relation to the launch of EveryBlock on Thursday.
The specific issue: The EveryBlock service is populated, in part, with Craigslist user listings. EveryBlock’s bulk usage of Craigslist’s publicly available RSS feeds, however, is not in apparent conformity with Craigslist’s Terms Of Use.
I asked publicly yesterday if Craigslist will soon terminate EveryBlock’s redistribution of the information contained in Craigslist’s RSS feeds. I also asked Craigslist directly if it would enforce its Terms Of Service vs a vs EveryBlock.
Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist CEO told me: “We generally don’t pre-announce the specifics or timing of enforcement efforts relating to our Terms Of Use.”
If Craigslist does NOT take action against use of its RSS feeds inconsistent with its Terms Of Use, what message would be understood by the Web community? After all, Craigslist has been called a “walled garden.” Oodle and listpic have first hand knowledge of Craigslist’s desire to preserve the integrity of Craigslist user postings, within Craigslist.
At the end of the EveryBlock day, how will third parties really know what is, or is not, permitted usage of Craigslist listings? Buckmaster told me:
Third parties can easily ascertain what is permitted on our site by consulting our Terms Of Use and/or contacting us with any questions they may have.
So, DID EveryBlock contact Craigslist to obtain an apparently required “license” for its bulk, non-personal use of Craigslist listings? I asked EveryBlock’s founder, Adrian Holovaty, how the site physiically obtains the Craigslist listings which populate parts of EveryBlock on a daily basis: ”We’re using Craigslist’s publicly available RSS feeds, pretty much every page has an RSS link,” Holovaty told me.
Is the EveryBlock use of “public” Craigslist RSS feeds–in apparent contradiction of the publicly posted Craigslist Terms Of Use–accepted, approved and/or authorized by Craigslist? Both EveryBlock and Craigslist are mum at present.
Will Craigslist funded UC Berkeley Center For New Media be able to help sort things out?
MORE: Craigslist PR: Same OLD Media?
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