Back in 2002 I lived in Ocean Beach, San Francisco and worked at Haight and Cole. I went by the Craigslist building a few times and it didn’t look like much. I used Craigslist back then and when I moved to San Diego, I was happy to see that he had put up a San Diego section.

Now Craigslist is known world wide as a place to find just about anything, a business directory, a free alternative to ebay, a place to meet people. Craig Newmark is one of the few who will be likely to have a permanent place on the web for generations to come, so I am happy to have had the opportunity to conduct an interview with the man who came out of nowhere to become one of the first to connect the dots of the web:

Mike Dammann: Craig, you have started out in a small building in San Francisco and have now become one of the top internet site owners. At what point did you realize that Craigslist was going to be bigger than anything you have ever done and what was the first thing that you did to get ready for what this would turn out to become?

Craig Newmark: Never was much of an observation like that, since growth was always slow and steady.  On a continuous basis, we try to keep ahead of the performance curve.  In the race between the tortoise and the hare, we’re
the tortoise.

A lot of people out there want money, they want to make money online, but don’t really have a clue or any guideline on how to go about it. You on the other hand seem to be the opposite. You filled a need without even monetizing for quite some time, correct? What was your initial goal and how have your goals changed since then?

Never had an initial goal, just wanted to give back to the community. Now the commitment is larger, and it’s all a matter of following through.

Regarding other websites: Do you own any, have you ever failed at any projects? Are there projects you have yet to start? No need to reveal anything, but I would like to know what else inspires you and if there is anything new that we can expect from you.

I’ve made a coupl of big blunders early on, at craigslist, that I can’t talk much about.  Some of my consulting efforts didn’t go anywhere, including a box that was supposed to be a cheap home server, in 1996.

Let’s look for a moment on how the internet has changed since you have started. How marketing has shifted. Back in the days, social media was unheard of. There obviously was a need back then which has not been filled until recently. Unlike most sites which have started back then, your model has not changed, only expanded. Are you planning to ever change anything from how you have been operating for years and if so, why?

No changes in the sense you mean; we do one thing really well, and don’t want to screw that up.  There will be more cities, more languages, and always better customer service.

I’m curious as to how much time and energy you guys are spending to cut down the spam. I am assuming with your traffic it must be quite a bit. Do people get the hint that spam won’t last long, or are spammers getting smarter and what advice would you give any platform owner out there when it comes to keeping their community clean?

Can’t disclose anything along these lines.  You don’t want to tip off the bad guys.

I have checked your blog before conducting this interview, and obviously it’s tough to miss who you support in this upcoming election. Even though I myself am vocal in this arena, I am not always sure if it’s a good idea and would like to get your opinion on a comment which I have just read, Cartoonbarry.com.

Ultimately I feel it’s my duty to vote based on what’s best for myself, my family and my own situation.

I feel it’s *NOT* my job to change anyone else’s mind because their situation may be very different from mine.

my $.02.

Do you think that us supporting a candidate is good and what approach do you believe to be the best? How do you educate people who have not that much interest in learning about what either candidate stands for?

I think 2008 is much like 1776. Back then, the Founders gave up pretty good representative democracy, with some means for grassroots efforts. The Internet allows one to scale grassroots efforts from thousands to millions and that complements the representative system well.  I feel we all need to stand up for what we feel is the right thing.

Educating people, I’m not so good at, but I’ve been blogging and doing public speaking, hopefully with some effect.

Your resume and previous interviews have shown me that you feel comfortable being a “nerd”, yet you have been in the limelight for quite some time.

What is it about the net industry that so many talented programmers have such poor social skills, yet there are some who combine both worlds well? Are you more inspired by the technical aspect of the web, or are you more motivated by what you want to bring to the world and then find a way to deliver that?

Some people live in their head a lot, and have good technology and engineering skills. I’m one such person, initially attracted by the tech but now I’ve become a kind of community organizer. That works for me.

I forgot how much it was, but you have been offered a substantial amount of money for Craigslist and didn’t sell it. I sometimes ask myself what will happen to sites like yours some day, let’s say in 100 years.

Are you the kind of person who has a hard time separating from his own creation and what are you going to do to impact a continuance of your own vision with the project?

I’m committed, and persistent, and just don’t even consider separation.

Craig, this last question is about the future of the web. Where do you see the web in 50 years? What sorts of phenomenons do you see coming which have not been thought of yet? What sort of advice would you give web marketers, creative people and entrepreneurs who want to become an early part of something new and how do you yourself anticipate your very own role in what is about to happen?

That’s a huge question, hard to start.

For sure, I think the primary connection to the Net for most people will be increasingly smart mobile phones.  It’s easier, in much of the world, to set up wireless networks, and maybe everyone needs a phone.