Craigslist

Although it started as a simple way for a man named Craig Newmark to share local events and social materials with friends in the San Francisco [Page 481]Bay Area in 1995, Craigslist quickly grew to first a nationwide and then a global classified service that currently creates a good deal of economic activity and is one of the top 10 most-viewed Web sites in the United States (with a significant user base abroad as well, having expanded to more than 50 countries).

It began to expand rapidly after Newmark created it, with individualized sites for nine additional cities within the first 4 years of its existence, and eventually, users began posting things not related to community events, especially companies and individuals seeking potential employees. After Newmark ...