Wessel on 2 Apr 2001 03:29:00 -0000 |
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<nettime> craig is fake??? |
DISTRIBUTION: LOCAL (California, San Francisco/Bay Area) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SAN FRANCISCO/CA, April 1, 2001 Craigslist Confirms that "Craig" Is A Myth SAN FRANCISCO - In a cost-cutting move, craigslist.org announced today that it will discontinue its popular but fictional "Craig" icon, citing market pressures, and the need to re-focus on its core business. As early as 1995, craigslist had sought to present a humane, community-minded, sexy face to the world - and accordingly, invented an idealized figure to symbolize their organization. "Craig" came to personify the Internet Man of the New Millenium - smart, hunky, and compassionate. More recently, the character's crime fighting activities brought him new fame as the archetypal "Digital Badass." Today, craigslist confessed that there is no "Craig". Marking the end of an era, "Craig" takes his rightful place amongst fictional has-beens like "Betty Crocker", "Jolly Green Giant", and republocrats "Bill Clinton" and "George W Bush". Recent "Craig" sightings are reputed to have been paid appearances by Jason Alexander, famed for his George Costanza character from Seinfeld. "I don't really care whether I exist," Craig allegedly explained, "I just need a nap". About craigslist: www.craigslist.org was started in the SF Bay Area by "Craig Newmark" in 1995. The site includes a community bulletin board with classifieds. The organization uses a common-sense, down-to-earth approach and works to make the net more personal and authentic. It advocates social responsibility and promotes small, local non-profit organizations. Craigslist currently serves 50 million page views per month, and is ranked among the world's 125 busiest websites (Alexa). In a recent study, Forrester Research recognized craigslist as the most efficient internet job website, noting the company's dedication to quality customer service and regional focus (WSJ 4/2000). The site has expanded to other cites, including LA, New York, Boston, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, DC, and Chicago. # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net