The Last Idealists

HOW DID THE ICONOCLASTS AT CRAIGSLIST BEAT THE WEB GIANTS AT THEIR OWN GAME?

For those wondering whether Silicon Valley idealism went on sale with Google's first share of stock, look no further than Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, the men behind the online bulletin board Craigslist. Here's Newmark, its founder, on success: "Once you make a comfortable living, how much extra stuff do you need?" Here's Buckmaster, its CEO, on strategy: "We're not setting out for global domination. We're just looking to provide our service to people who need it. If it's not needed, that's fine." Not surprisingly, Craigslist has no marketing department.

So how is it that Craigslist has become one of the...

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