Facebook Wants To Put Craigslist Out Of Business... Again

Facebook seeks to offer alternative to Craigslist, utilizing user networks

By Matt Hickey Wednesday, October 31, 2012

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Facebook is testing a new service that might make Craigslist a thing of the past.

Two sources within Facebook, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, have independently told The Daily that development of a classifieds project is on a fast track, not just as a way to not just engage its millions of users but also as a way of allowing them to engage each other.

The new tool, which is tentatively called Marketplace (borrowed from another deprecated Facebook app) would allow users to create short advertisements that appear in their friends’ news feeds notifying them of everything from apartment rentals to furniture sales to job boards. In short, practically anything you do on Craigslist can be done with this new service.  

Let’s say you’re trying to sell a couch. Much like the way Facebook’s “promoted posts” work you’d pay a nominal (less than $5) fee and a tidy little ad for a used couch would appear in your friends’ feeds.

Currently, “promoted” posts appear slightly segregated in news feeds and have a marginally different look. The new ads could include multiple photos and links to external resources. Users can also elect to “share” a post on their own timeline much like news stories are shared now. 

In contrast, posts for housing for individuals would be free and allow users to tag friends as a suggestion. Say you were looking for a roommate in the Seattle area who is a neat freak and enjoys sushi. The ad would be shown to friends in the Puget Sound area. Those friends, however, could then pass it along to other across the country even if they aren’t friends with the original poster of the ad. It’s a clever way to get users to load more pages, but it’s also a great way to get users to expand their online social circles.

The jobs board could become the most active part of the new app with young professionals, allowing users to share career opportunities with their friends. Much like housing, the posts can be restricted geographically, but can also be restricted to certain criteria. For example, a job that has certain qualifications, like a Master’s degree, could be shown to only those who have one â€" or at least whose profiles say they do. Also, like housing, friends can suggest the opening to other users who might not be friends with the one who posted it.

But it’s the projects section that is maybe the most interesting. Similar to Craigslist’s Gigs section, it would let users post tips and information about a variety of topics from clearing brush to installing WordPress. It would also let people share “ideas,” or broadly scoped ventures they’d like to flesh out with help. It’s possible the next generation of startups could be formed within this section. Or really raucous house parties. 

The whole affair seems to be very targeted, allowing users to locate anything from roommates to jobs by taking advantage of Facebook’s vast network. This focused method is the very opposite of Craigslist’s wider (but so-far successful) shotgun approach; instead of broadcasting ads to everyone on the Web, Facebook will just display those that are relevant to the users that might be interested. The move is a shrewd one, at least for the Web, and is proof that Facebook’s future probably isn’t just about corporate sponsorship. 

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