Craig Newmark Interview
Paul DiPerna:
Craig.. Do you have any favorite philosophers or historical figures?
If so, why is that person special?
Craig Newmark:
Leonard Cohen provides me considerable spiritual direction; for whatever reason, his poetry and music works for me, and leads me to other religious figures.
Paul DiPerna:
What were the early days like for you as Craigslist was taking off, say about 1995 to 1998?
Craig Newmark:
Those were my software contracting days, doing web related programming mostly in Java. I wasn't good at selling my skills, but did well financially and had fun, and a lot of time off.
Paul DiPerna:
What are Craigslist's biggest challenges today?
Craig Newmark:
Staying small while growing large.
Paul DiPerna:
What do you think generally needs to be done in terms of quality control for participatory websites like Craigslist, MySpace, and Wikipedia?
Craig Newmark:
We all need to enlist the help of the community to police our sites, and to counter the efforts of organized disinformation gangs, like those run by bad PR firms and lobbyists.
Paul DiPerna:
What does "citizen journalism" mean to you?
Craig Newmark:
It encompasses a range of meaning, but usually means actual journalism without pay, at least via older press companies. The strength of citizen journalism is the courage to speak truth to power; the problem is a tendency to post without fact checking. On the other hand, the traditional model involves professional editing and fact checking prior to publication. I'm hoping to see a merging of both models, and that's in process now.
Paul DiPerna:
How would you define success for Congresspedia. I understand you support the initiative very much.
Craig Newmark:
I'd guess if people throughout the country start using it, and that it exposes significant corruption; both of which are starting to happen.
Paul DiPerna:
One last question... and a serious one.
Do you have an avatar?
Craig Newmark:
No, but it would share with me that George Costanza mojo.
November 16, 2006
