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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Computer engineer Craig Newmark is an accidental entrepreneur. He started Craigslist as a hobby in 1995, when he was living in San Francisco and saw a lot of people helping1 each other out over the Internet.
Craig Newmark sparked an on-line revolution in making local connections to buy, sell and meet
"I decided2 that I should give back a little," he recalls, "so I started a very simple mailing list for events in San Francisco." As people provided suggestions, he responded.
The site gradually expanded to include classified ads, discussion forums4 and community notices. Today, Craigslist users can find almost anything they want, from furniture for their home to a date for the evening.
It is a simple text-based site, and Newmark says that it offers a basic service: it's the place to go to find a job or a place to live, or to sell your unwanted items, all in your neighborhood. "It works out kind of like a flea5 market, which is to say it's very down to earth and grassroots."
Newmark says part of the reason Craigslist is so successful is it eliminates the middleman and lets its users deal directly with each other.
A free service that makes money
Each community has its own list, featuring personal ads, discussion forums, job listings, housing opportunities and items for sale
For most users, Craigslist is free. The company generates revenue by charging businesses a fee to post ads for job openings. It also charges New York housing brokers6 a fee to post their ads. The prices are a bargain – far lower than those charged for classified ads in newspapers – and wherever Craigslist is popular, newspapers lose money.
Craigslist is privately7 held and does not discuss its finances, but one industry analyst8 estimates its current annual revenues at $80 million. The company, which has just 25 employees, is housed in a Victorian wood-frame house in San Francisco. Yet from its inconspicuous office, it has created online communities in more than 500 cities, in 55 countries, from Mexico to Malaysia.
Newmark downplays his own skills as a manager, and says the company's chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, provides the business guidance. Newmark is low-key and unassuming, and says his main role today is ensuring good customer service.
Growing pains
Behind this modest sign is a multi-million dollar international enterprise
Craigslist is currently involved in a legal quarrel with business partner eBay. The giant Internet auction9 site holds a minority share in Craigslist. The two companies are doing battle in court in a dispute that could determine the future direction of Craigslist.
Craigslist has also had problems with people trying to use its site for fraud or illicit10 activities. One user allegedly tried to hire an assassin to kill a romantic rival. But users can flag questionable11 postings, and if enough of them do that, the listing is deleted.
Newmark says the site is overseen12 by those who use it, in keeping with the philosophy of his company: "Provide a culture of trust, work with people to build and maintain that, and you can trust people, people can trust each other." He says that while there are some "bad guys" out there, the site provides its community with the means of detecting and getting rid of them.
Everyone's printing press
Newmark says Internet sites like Craigslist are creating virtual communities and giving everyone – not just the powerful or influential13 – a forum3 in which to express themselves. "There are people who now have a voice that never had a voice before, and that helps people out."
Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster discuss business on their office balcony
Newmark says he is relying on technology to help him expand the reach of the Craigslist site, allowing users to build new web-based communities in more and more cities around the world. He says the site is growing in the Middle East, with a local site now operating in the city of Ramallah, a location suggested to Newmark by Palestinian friends.
Craigslist faces competition from Internet rivals such as Kijiji, which eBay introduced to the U.S. market in 2005. And Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer14, now offers free classified ads on its website.
Newmark says despite the competition, he and CEO Jim Buckmaster are determined15 to keep the site user-based, and have no intention of taking the company public and becoming billionaires. "We've made a decision based on our values, which we share with most people," he says, explaining, "Once you've made enough money to have a comfortable living, and to do a little better than that – maybe save for retirement16 – what's the point of making more? It feels better to change the world a little."
收听单词发音 |
1
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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3
forum
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| n.论坛，讨论会 | |
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forums
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| 讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭 | |
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flea
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| n.跳蚤 | |
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brokers
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| n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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8
analyst
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| n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家 | |
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auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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10
illicit
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| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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12
overseen
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| v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 ) | |
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13
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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14
retailer
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| n.零售商(人) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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