Greg's Corner

San Diego magazine chooses Geebo, highlighting commitment to online safety

For some time now, I’ve been soap-box preaching about the value of a partnership between a safe online classified community such as Geebo and locally-circulated publications. For the most part, I’ve been referring to the opportunity for newspapers.

But local magazines are another excellent example.

Earlier this month, Geebo partnered with East County Magazine, a local publication in the San Diego region that was impressed with Geebo’s commitment to providing a safe haven for online classifieds. For folks in San Diego, that sort of commitment hits close to home. The city has been rocked by at least two high-profile crimes that originated through ads on craigslist.

The first involved the widely-publicized 2007 slaying of San Diego State University student Donna Jou, who met her assailant through a tutoring ad on craigslist. More recently, San Diego teenager Garrett Berki was shot and killed after a botched robbery attempt that occurred when he answered about a computer for sale on craigslist.

Thieves and violent criminals will always find a way to seek out innocent victims. But as publishers of online classified ad sites, we don’t have to make it easy for those criminals to use our sites as a means of finding people to victimize. Geebo screens every ad that’s posted to the site and has made a commitment to refuse personals ads, which are often a front for prostitution, human trafficking and other illegal activities. Likewise, Geebo is working with an independent service called WeGoLook.com, which employs inspectors – or “lookers” – to verify items for sale before the buyer and seller agree on the terms of a transaction.

San Diegans, like Geebo, understand that it takes a proactive commitment to keep a community safe. Miriam Raftery, editor and founder of the magazine, said her decision to partner with Geebo for classifieds stemmed from the violent headlines that sent shockwaves through her community.

“As a nonprofit media, we are dedicated to helping improve our community and keeping our readers safe,” Raftery said. “We are delighted to partner with a reputable company such as Geebo to provide our readers with the safest possible online classified advertising opportunities.”

We welcome East County Magazine as a partner not only in the classifieds business but also in our efforts to keep the Internet safe.