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Craigslist posts

Filed under: E-mail, Productivity, Web services

Heycraig!: get alerts when Craigslist has what you're looking for

Finding a particular item you want on Craigslist can be a matter of actively checking back every day to see if somebody has listed one in your area, but for the lazy amongst us, there might be a better way. Check out Heycraig!, a site that watches Craigslist for you, and sends you an email alert when a new post matches your search terms. It's city-specific, and kind of tricky to fine-tune, but if you want to know every time someone lists a new bike in your area, it's the site for you.

To use Heycraig!, just put in a search term and your email address, and specify your local Craiglist site. Heycraig! could benefit from a multi-city option, but Craiglist is notorious for cracking down on sites that offer systemwide functionality, so it's unlikely to happen. If you're looking across more than one local network, you'll have to take a little time to set up more than one search. Some advanced search options to narrow down the results on Heycraig! would also be helpful, particularly to specify a neighborhood or area in larger cities. If you're casting a wide net, though, Heycraig! could prove very useful.



Filed under: Web services

Craigslist swaps "erotic" for "adult", society's ills magically cured

If you're shaking your moneymaker (quite literally) via Craigslist, you've only got 7 more days before your advertisements meet with closer scrutiny. In -- yet another -- agreement with a state Attorney General (this time, Connecticut) Craigslist will remove the Erotic Services category.

Replacing "Erotic" will be a services section simply called "Adult".

Craigslist says they'll employ staff to manually screen postings to the Adult section, going a step further than the last erotic countermeansure they employed, attaching identity to the Erotic Services postings by charging a small fee via credit card.

Will re-branding "Erotic Services" as simply "Adult" take the e-prostitution lightning rod away from Craigslist? Our very official scientific survey -- I shook the magic eight ball on my desk -- says "Don't count on it."

Filed under: Windows, Search

CraigsList Reader makes searching Craiglist (even more) simple

Craigslist Reader
There are thousands of ads for apartment listings, jobs, used furniture, computers, and other items on CraigsList. And while the site offers some pretty decent search features, sorting through the results can be a bit of hassle. That's where CraigsList Reader comes in. This free (and ad supported) Windows utility lets you conduct detailed CraigsList searches and arrange or bookmark the results.

First you need to select one or more locations to search and then pick a category or two. Then just enter your search terms and away you go. It takes a moment for the search results to pop up, but once they do you can arrange them by category, location, price, or other characteristics.

You can right click on any listing for more options. For instance, you can open an item in a web browser or add it to your favorites. CraigsList Reader can also send you notifications when new listings meeting your criteria are posted.

[via MakeUseOf]

Filed under: Internet, Web

Workstir wants to take guesswork out of Craigslist-style job listings

WorkStir
Want to hire movers, a photographer, or a DJ? You could post an ad on Craigslist, but you never really know if you're going to get reliable service or some guy who shows up at your door with a baseball bat asking for your money and jewelry. Workstir is a new classified ad site that aims to make the process of hiring help online a bit easier.

Users can create detailed profiles that give you a good idea of their skills and work experience. More importantly, there's a feedback system so that past customers can rate performance, giving you a good idea of whether the person you're thinking about hiring is trustworthy, reliable, and good at their job.

Right now, Workstir has one major problem: It does't have a whole lot of registered users. That means you won't find a ton of workers or job listings. And if you do find a worker who matches your needs, odds are they won't have any feedback yet. But if Workstir can overcome the chicken or egg problem, I could see a site that combines the simplicity of Craigslist with a feedback system really taking off.

[via TechCrunch]

Filed under: Internet, Search

TypoBuddy Finds Misspelled eBay, Craigslist (?) Deals



TypoBuddy, like previously reviewed TypoTracker, helps you find deals by searching for misspelled variations of the items you search for. Why?

Because most people that search for a particular item will try to spell it right - meaning that listings with typos might go unnoticed, and you'll wind up getting a sweet deal just because some seller was careless enough to not check his or her typing.

It's a great concept, but does it work?

I tried submitting a few queries to both sites, first looking for "thinkpad." Although TypoBuddy told me it had found 100 misspelled matches, clicking through to the eBay results netted only 76 - still very respectable. The search automatically homes in on your locale, so you may need to change locations to get more results.

Read more →

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Google, Googleholic, web 2.0

Googleholic for June 13, 2008

Welcome to Googleholic, your bi-weekly fix of everything Google! In this edition:

  • Upload PDFs to Google Docs
  • Google I/O sessions now online
  • Edit the Google Mobile page
  • Easy way to export gCal ICS files
  • Use Google Docs for Craigslist ads
  • Google's agreement with Yahoo!

Read more →

Filed under: Business, Internet

Craiglist demands fan blog's domain - joins 21st century

Craigslist doing it's thingYesterday, we posted that Craigslist joined the 20th century with a 1990's-esque blog to let the world in on what's going on within the inner self of Craigslist. Today, Craigslist is already making fantastic progress through time. No, the blog still looks like it belongs in 1996, but it is demanding that the fan operated craigslistblog.org surrender it's domain.

Although Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster hasn't asked Tim White, the fan blogger, to stop blogging - he does claim that the domain name infringes on intellectual property and is confusing to the media and the public. That, and some of the content Tim White was using was exclusive to Craigslist and shouldn't be posted. In an effort to meet halfway, the blog now prominently displays that it is indeed an "unofficial" blog and has removed the content in question, but apparently that is not enough. Probably now that Buckmaster has his own blog he feels the need to defend it with a lawsuit.

If you are interested in what the exact correspondence was, Valleywag has it available for your viewing pleasure. It is however, sad to see a company like Craigslist resort to 21st century intellectual property chest-beating strongarm tactics instead of engaging the blogger in a civilized manner and at least attempting to come to a mutually agreeable resolution before issuing threats. This is neither going to make Craigslist look good nor will it make them any friends.

Filed under: Internet, Web services

Craigslist adds more languages

Craigslist has just added more languages to its online classifieds service. While there was no official announcement on Craigslit, founder Craig Newmark announced the news on his personal blog.

The added languages include Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Future supported languages might include Basque and Klingon, though the latter has fallen out of everyday usage here on planet Earth.

In case you've been hiding under a rock (and said rock doesn't have an internet connection): Craigslist is a free online classifieds service that serves pretty much every major metropolitan area in the US and abroad.

[via cnewmark]

Filed under: Utilities, Web services, Mozilla, Freeware

Craigslist Image Preview: Firefox extension to add images to Craigslist searches

Odds are, if you're an avid user of craigslist, you've often asked this question: why can't I have the ability to see the images of each listing without having to click on each listing individually?

Download Squad reader "Mac" feels your pain, and has directed us to a new Firefox extension, Craigslist Image Preview. This neat and simple extension loads a thumbnail of the product images on the craigslist search page itself, eliminating the need to click on each individual listing to view an image.

Ah, Firefox, will thy extensibility never cease to amaze us?

The weird thing is, the only section of craigslist that has this functionality by default is the "bikes" section.

What's up with that?

Anyway, Craigslist Image Preview is a cinch to download (it installs like any other Firefox extension); once downloaded and installed, the next time you search craigslist, you'll see the first image of each listing load underneath its listing title. Obviously, the load time of the search page is much longer, but we think it's worth it.

For similar if not identical functionality, check out CLPicView version 1.0, also just released. Both extensions are free, and both seem to have an equal dislike of Firefox 3 beta 4.

Thanks, Mac!

Filed under: Productivity, Web services, Search

Crgslst: speedy Ajax interface for Craigslist searches

Crgslst

There's a lot of garbage on Craigslist -- including vowels, apparently. Crgslst cuts to the chase, providing a quick Ajax site that switches between cities and categories on Craigslist with one click. It looks a lot prettier than the real thing, too!

Since there are hundreds of different city pages on Craigslist now, you can save a ton of time by jumping between them within the same search. Crgslst doesn't allow a simultaneous nationwide search, although it could easily do so, because that feature has gotten sites shut down in the past. This is the next-best thing, though, and we hope it lasts.

Crgslst has another leg up on the built-in Craigslist search engine because it lets you quickly save what you're doing. You can pick up to 10 favorite cities, to avoid having to reselect your city from the map or the popular cities list every time, and you can save interesting listings to a compact sidebar. If the folks at Craigslist do want this site shut down, they could do worse than to steal from its design, which a huge improvement on the original.

[via JoshSpear]

Craigslist learns Spanish

Craigslist en EspanolOne of the best sources for minimalist classifieds, Craigslist has decided to branch out and learn Spanish. The new feature is still rather limited, as the new language toggle is only available for select cities and areas: namely those located in Central and South America.

Considering the large number of Spanish speakers in the U.S., it would be nice to see the feature spread to those cities and areas as well. We love convenience, and language adaptation is one of the best ways to open sites up to new groups of users.

Interestingly enough however, the classifieds themselves remain "unclassified" as far as languages go. So even though you are able to modify the parameters of a classified search in Spanish, there are no filters that allow you to only view Spanish classifieds.

The update will probably matter more once Craigslist makes the language options global for all its pages and allows for language filters for the classifieds as well.

[via Mashable]

Filed under: Internet, Web services, web 2.0

eBay rolls out new shopping interface

eBay
eBay is getting a facelift. And while it's probably long overdue, we're not quite sure if its necessary.

While pretty much every new website you see these days use newfangled tools like AJAX and Flash animation to provide a desktop-like experience without the need to reload a webpage, a handful of popular sites have continued to get by with a web 1.0 interface. Craigslist and eBay are probably the first two that come to mind. After all, if you're shopping for used goods and bargains, a flashy website might just make you feel like the seller is trying to hide something.

That said, there's one thing that has always made items more attractive on eBay and Craigslist: pictures. And the new eBay design does a good job of highlighting pictures. You can still use the traditional list view with a tiny thumbnail. But for selected categories, you can also choose a "Picture Gallery" or "Snapshot View."

In Picture Gallery, you see large thumbnails with item information like title, price, and time remaining underneath. The Snapshot View shows you just a screen filled with images. Click on one and a window will pop up with a larger photo and more info about the item. For items where looks matter more than specs, shopping by photo could definitely be more productive than shopping by title.

The new views aren't available for all users for every category yet, but the company plans to roll them out for everyone by the end of the year. Some categories will also allow you to search by size, brand or color.

Filed under: Internet, Web services

Could you bringsome stuff from abroad?

bringsomeSay on your last vacation you traveled abroad and found a candy, coffee creamer, or consumer electronic device that just wasn't available in your home. Sure, you could buy a plane ticket and fly halfway across the world to pick up some more chocolates. But even if they were really good chocolates, it's probably not worth it (unless you buy in bulk).

Bringsome is sort of like an international Craigslist. Just post what you're looking for, preferably with a photo, and what you'll offer in exchange. One person from Kuala Lumpur would really like some Greek Pepperonci and would be happy to buy someone a beer if they pick some up and bring it back to Malaysia on their next trip. Another user is willing to pay someone $270 to pick up a digital camera that's not available in Romania. Of course, that's only a few bucks over the sale price in the US, so you'd do this out of the goodness of your heart, not to make a quick buck.

Overall it's a pretty nice idea. But as with any online classified site, whether or not bringsome is successful will depend on its ability to build a user base. Right now there are only 60 active ads.

[via gHacks]

Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services

Prostitution 2.0 through Craigslist

Prostitution 2.0 through CraigslistIt seems like some internet savvy hookers have found out that Craigslist is the place to be in order to attract Johns interested in a little offline business.

Local authorities have been monitoring the employment and for sale ads, and have noticed a steady increase in action from the sex trade business. Nassau County, New York was where the latest sting took place. In the past year alone, over 70 arrests have been taken place just from Craigslist ads. Police have started placing decoy ads on the website and monitoring it to catch would be customers in the act. High tech hookers have taken off all across the US, with another recent arrest of 60 in Illinois that used Craigslist to advertise their services.

Craigslist says that its 24 staff members cannot possibly flag all objectionable ads, but that hasn't stopped law enforcement officials from accusing them of enabling prostitution. Others are saying that the sites digital footprints help law enforcement crach down on the sex trade. On one day over 9,000 listings alone were added to the "Erotic Services" category in the New York region. Welcome to Prostitution 2.0.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services

Cozybug: sell your stuff without going postal

Cozybug
If you want to sell a used computer, eBay's great. But if you're looking to unload a mattress, car, or dining table, not so much. One of the great things about eBay is that you can buy items from anyone in the world, which helps keep the prices low. But once you add shipping, heavy items are kind of a hassle.

Sure, you could look for items available for pickup, but most people have just migrated to online classified sites like Craigslist that have strong local communities.

Cozybug wants to take on Craiglist and eBay's own Kijiji in the local classifieds market. The concept is simple enough. Enter your location and search for items like appliances, furniture, or clothing -- no shipping required. You can also search the entire site and find out what people are selling halfway across the country. You just can't pick it up unless you make the trip out there.

What does Cozybug have that Craiglist lacks? A nice site design with graphics and thumbnail images. What does Craigslist have that Cozybug doesn't? Users. And ads. A national search for "bicycle" currently brings up exactly one listing. And apparently there are only 10 mattresses for sale in the U.S.

Cozybug has a good concept. But it's the user base that makes sites like these successful. It'll be interesting to see if they can attract one.

[via TechCrunch]

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