If you ask a web-agency about the best way to grow your website, there's a good chance that they'll get back to you with some idea of social media campaign and urge you to consider including some sort of "social features" to your website. This is Web 2.0 era, and leveraging social media tools to reach your audience is the mainstream strategy for successful web marketing today.
The September cover story of Wired Magazine - "The Tragedy of Craigslist" - caught my attention because it did not match that trend. Based on an insightful interview of founder Craig Newmark, the article by Gary Wolf explores Craigslist's conservative philosophy and atypical strategy in the Internet space.
Excerpts:
If you really want to see a mess, go visit the nation's greatest apartment-hunting site, the first likely choice of anybody searching for a rental or a roommate. On this site, contrary to every principle of usability and common sense, you can't easily browse pictures of the apartments for rent. Customer support? Visit the help desk if you enjoy being insulted. How much market share does this housing site have? In many cities, a huge percentage. It isn't worth trying to compare its traffic to competitors', because at this scale there are no competitors. [...] With more than 47 million unique users every month in the US aloneâ€"nearly a fifth of the nation's adult populationâ€"it is the most important community site going and yet the most underdeveloped. Think of any Web feature that has become popular in the past 10 years: Chances are craigslist has considered it and rejected it.
The article continues digging into Craigslist's history and managing principles, but unfortunately did not answer my primary curiosity: Why? How come that this website, stuck in the Stone Age of the Internet, remains so popular and growing? So let me venture an opinion.
I think that Craigslist is successful BECAUSE it managed to keep an amateurish look & feel - intentionally or not? - , staying away from the features that makes an e-commerce website look like... yet another e-commerce website! The great purpose of Craigslist is to bring together occasional vendors and occasional buyers for a gigantic garage sale, with the underlying promise of the lowest prices on the Internet. The rudimentary design of the website makes it credible that no professional - with high margins in mind - would ever interfere in the transactions. Unlike eBay, Craigslist does not segregate vendors. Posting an offer does not require special skills to make it look more attractive or easier to find, and those who may want to make their ad look better can't. There's no vendor rating of any kind, which gives first-time sellers a chance to stand out. The minimalist design of Craigslist is a level playing field. It fosters the feeling of a philanthropic market place, where vendors don't make profit and buyers don't pay for marketing (although Craigslist's annual revenue exceeds $100 million!). Paradoxically, the amateurish design of Craigslist is developing trust!
Craigslist might be a unique example of amateurism fueling growth and profit. But its success against all odds is worth a thought when considering modernizing your website. Start by looking into your audience profile. Visitors might well value some level of amateurism over a fashionable design, as an evidence of human-managed business. In some cases, good enough is good enough!
