Craig Connects – Craigslist founder creates new site aimed to support nonprofits

Nonprofit fundraising seems to be harbouring the support of some of the most creative people in social media and networking within the last year. That can only be a positive trend as some of the top individuals with a track record of success in social networking are turning their attention to bringing people together in support of causes both large and small. Interestingly in each case the reasons behind this continued injection of skills and experience has quite a lot of commonality, having proven their ability in social media and benefiting personally each has simply decided that ‘doing good’ is part of a personal goal that they want to help bring to light with their reputations, ideas and expertise.

In the last 12 months we’ve seen a co-founder of Facebook and a co-founder of Twitter looking to bridge the gap between the public and nonprofits with application of new social media tools and ideas. This weeks news that the man behind Craigslist has started ‘Craig Connects’ which adds another different dimension to the art of connecting people with causes. The website is not going to be in any shape an extension of Craigslist nor a grant giving organization but aims to ‘connect the world for common good’. Let’s backtrack a little first.

Statistically speaking if you live in the English speaking world you’ve probably visited Craigslist at some point, perhaps to look for an apartment, sell some old appliances or list/apply for a job opportunity. You’d be in the majority in that case as it’s estimated that  more than half of all adults in North America have visited the site at least once. The concept began when founder Craig Newmark started up an email list 1995, which evolved into the now familiar blue and white html website soon after in 1996 originally servicing the San Francisco area essentinally as an online classified. Expansion at the beginning of the next decade was rapid as Craigslist started adding more cities and then going international. It is now the 37th most visited website on the planet (#10 in the US and #84 in Canada) and claims some 80 million new classified advertisements per month which are viewed by as many as 50 million unique monthly visitors in the US alone. As such it has become one of the biggest job listing sites in the world. ‘Craig’ always kept things simple, most advertising was free and what the site has always lacked in looks (its an rather basic/ugly site which looks like a relic from the 1990’s) was made up for in variety, size of audience and success.

Newmark has decided to turn his attentions and networking skill to Craig Connects as a way to connect worthy nonprofits to a donor audience. He explains it in very plain  terms:

“See, most people assume I run craigslist, but I don’t. It’s run by a small group of very smart people who have stayed loyal to the idea that it should be simple, fast, mostly free, and “bottom-up” oriented. I’ve been involved, of course. I’ve done customer service from the beginning and am committed to it forever. It keeps me anchored to reality. Beyond that, I’ve learned a lot that can be applied to the common good and I’m doing that on this site. I don’t expect to be a “leader” with this thing. I’d rather be a builder. I’d like to build a way for people doing good work to connect, to learn from each other, protect each other, and then I want to get out of their way. I hope you’ll join in and help. Thanks!”

The site itself is a little more visual than Craigslist but is clear in its mission and focus area. Initially the site is aimed toward connecting people with causes in seven major areas including Community Building, Service & Volunteering, Technology for Social Good and Veterans issues. Remember though that the site has only just gone live but I expect that the information portal potential will continue to be expanded. Ethics and legitimacy are both key themes that run through the site, both real concerns from the public according to much research. The site has a wonderfully simple but grassroots feel to it. Newmark is the first to admit that he has set lofty goals for what the site can achieve but is convinced that people who want to do good are sometimes hesitant with how best to find and then support a good and worthy organization. Check out the video below as well and then visit the site and take it for a spin. These new avenues that partner the best minds of social media won’t achieve their goals alone but participation and research will open up nonprofits to new audiences that are ready to be engaged. The ethos of networking is really having a platform that is used by a good piece of the population, the site will initially benefit from the associations with Craigslist and then need to cement its place by creating a unique environment where nonprofits are able to found by the ideal audience. It will be interesting to see how things progress. I’d also recommend that you follow his blog – the site is being flooded with suggestions already which will surely see the site find its place in the months ahead. I like the idea, I do think it may be too early to see just where its place will be but with Craig Newmark behind it I’ve a feeling it will succeed.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cstqqtf7aCA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

‘Craig Connects’ welcome message

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