The Observer misses Craigslist's eBait

Today's Observer trumpets a full page profile of Craigslist founder Craig Newmark (right). The profile writer Paul Harris is a big fan, and says lots of nice things like ...

'But what makes Newmark different from other dotcom success stories is not his ineptness but, rather, his different attitude to business. He has chosen not to make hundreds of millions of dollars. He keeps the adverts free (the only ones that pay are a handful in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles) and has steadfastly refused to float on the stock exchange.

One study estimated Craigslist could earn $550m a year if it made the most of its huge readership and potential revenues. But Newmark refuses to take the bait.'

Pity Paul Harris didn't point out that the Craigslist web site says that in August 2004 eBay acquired 25% of Craigslist from a former employee.


Pliable's note - the wording of this post has been amended since original publication. See Comments below.
Craig Newmark blogs here.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
thanks, but please do research.

a former employee sold equity to eBay, not me.

Craig
craig@craigslist.org
Pliable said…
Craig, thanks.

The link in my post to your web site was pointed at the FAQ page that says:
Q: Is there a connection between craigslist and eBay?
A: eBay acquired 25% of the equity in craigslist from a former shareholder in august of 2004
.

But to remove any further confusion I have now reworded the last two paragraphs to make it completely clear that the purchase was from a former employee, and have noted the amendment.

Thanks for pointing this out, and apologies for any confusion caused.

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