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  • Greg Collier 6:44 am on July 18, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Pay Attention, America: Argentina bans sex ads in classifieds, takes stand against human trafficking 

    There’s a perception among some of my counterparts in the online classifieds business that adult-oriented classified ads allow consenting adults to find each other on the Internet for the sake of engaging in adult activities.

    But let’s be honest about the situation – this has become far more than just a forum for consenting adults. It’s become a human trafficking snake pit, a place where innocent women – and certainly young girls, too – are being offered as sexual favors for cash. It’s a disgrace that this sort of behavior can occur in a modern-day, civilized society – but it does, without government intervention.

    Finally, a government has taken efforts to squash this open forum by passing a law that bans sex ads in newspapers. Last week, Argentina’s President signed a law that bans sex ads from newspapers in that country. Recognizing the hypocrisy of these publications, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said: ,

    Newspapers can’t print headlines demanding that we fight human trafficking, while their back pages present ads that humiliate women.

    For years, I have been saying something very similar and, most recently, called on other online classifieds site operators to join me in removing “personals” ads from their publications. To date, none has joined me.

    The new law in Argentina is indicative of what happens when entities fail to self-regulate and protect their consumers – the government steps in. But what other choice was there? These ads were leading to countless murders, rapes, robberies, and scams, all of which fall on to local police and court systems, a drain on local resources.

    Here’s the thing: This isn’t just happening in “some other country.” This is just as much a problem for the U.S. as it is any other country. America prides itself on being a global leader in, well, just about everything. Washington should be paying close attention to the government intervention in Argentina. There are headlines in cities across America about people who are murdered, raped, robbed and scammed via online classifieds sites, notably Craigslist. Heck, there’s even a movie called “The Craigslist Killer.”

    I can’t tell you why, exactly, these other site owners won’t join me in my efforts to rid the Internet of marketplaces where innocent people can be preyed upon and victimized. I always thought it was a business decision. But, a recent article in the Village Voice, a well-known New York City tabloid, tells another story. The newspaper also owns Backpage.com, an online classifieds site that continues to post personals ads.

    The article is really more of an assault on a CNN reporter who has been working to raise awareness of the human trafficking problem in this country. But what’s more disturbing is that the author uses the First Amendment to the Constitution to defend the placement of these ads on the Backpage site. In the article, the Village Voice writes:

    Backpage.com is not a newspaper. It’s an Internet bulletin board where people can place ads for anything from rental apartments to bicycles to lawnmowers. And, yes, it’s a place where adults can post notices so that other adults can contact them. What happens when two adults find each other through Backpage.com? I couldn’t tell you. The whole point of Backpage.com is that we aren’t involved after two consenting adults find each other through the community bulletin board, which exists solely so that people can freely express themselves—sometimes in ways that make other people uncomfortable. We’re First Amendment extremists that way. Always have been.

    Is that what this is? The First Amendment? Certainly, if it is, that makes it tougherfor the U.S. government to take a stand the way the Argentina government did. Lawyers and judges would have to get involved to argue about whether these ads are protected under the First Amendment. It could get expensive and take a lot of time.

    In fairness, I will note that Backpage, according to the Village Voice piece, says that 123 employees screen about 20,000 ads everyday, “making constant searches for keywords that might indicate an underage user…” The article says that it cooperates with law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when suspicious ads are red-flagged and that its reports have actually helped to find runaways. In fact, in what appears to be a pat on the back, the article notes that the screening process resulted in 230 reports to law enforcement last month.

    That’s quite a load on local law enforcement. Imagine how many reports Backpage might have made if it didn’t allow these sorts of ads to begin with.

    Still, I maintain that this is a fight that’s worth fighting. Human trafficking is a black-eye on today’s modern society and the fact that we, as a civilized nation, turn a blind eye when it comes to the open marketplace for these sort of human transactions is – at the very least – shameful.

    I look forward to the day that the U.S. government takes a stand to protect innocent victims of human trafficking. More importantly, I’m hopeful that my counterparts in this industry will regulate themselves first and recognize that, collectively, we can bring human trafficking efforts to a crawl instead of providing them an express lane.

    Related reading:

    Huffington Post: Child Sex Trafficking: Setting the Record Straight
    My challenge to Craigslist: Keep criminals off your site
    Craigslist removes some adult categories: Hold your applause

     

    • Lauren Taylor 9:14 am on July 18, 2011 Permalink

      Great article, Greg. We echo your sentiments! Keep the pressure on.

    • Christian Astorga 1:52 pm on August 31, 2011 Permalink

      Awesome article Greg! You certainly hit the nail on the head with this post! It stands to reason now that most companies sell their moral bases (if they ever had any to begin with) for the right price. Yes, it is true that Backpage does offer a bit of work to local police officials, but honestly, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate that section and do away with the problem from the root? I’d rather live as a police officer who doesn’t have to deal with human trafficking because the problem doesn’t exist due to a communal effort nation-wide. That Backpage submitting suspicious ads to the authorities is just a way for them to cover their butts before the public. They are trying to prevent “The Backpage Killer” from ever screening. To me it appears they are compromising. Dangerous game for all players…

  • Greg Collier 11:08 pm on June 15, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Pre-inspect a car before you buy? It makes sense 

    One of the biggest perks that comes with surfing the online classified marketplace is the ability to shop beyond the area where you live. The Internet powers a widespread marketplace, allowing consumers to buy from anyone, anywhere.

    Of course, with that freedom comes some risks and some limitations. How could anyone possibly buy a car, for example, from someone in another part of the country? After all, you need to test drive a car, check it for oil leaks and ripped upholstery and be sure that the VIN number on the car matches the one on the paperwork.

    That’s where inspection services like WeGoLook, a Geebo partner, come into play. When you find the car of your dreams on Geebo, you can also reach out to WeGoLook, which has a team of inspectors on-call across the country, ready to test drive that car, check its condition and present you with the red flags or reassurances that you’ll need before handing over your hard-earned cash.

    Here’s why it works: WeGoLook isn’t buying or selling the car on your behalf. In fact, beyond its fee to conduct the inspection – which starts at $49 – WeGoLook isn’t in the business to offer advice or form opinions. For all the inspectors know, you’re more than happy to buy a vintage car that has body damage or needs mechanical work. WeGoLook just wants to make sure that you know everything you need to know about that car ahead of the transaction.

    Getting a full run-down on the car from WeGoLook is certainly better than trusting the word of a seller you’ve never met, right? And it’s safer, too.

    As Geebo’s founder, I have been standing on this soapbox about the importance of safety in the online classified marketplace. Its importance can’t be overstated. There have been far too many instances of innocent people being victimized simply by trying to engage in an online transaction. That’s why a partnership with WeGoLook is such an important piece of the Geebo experience.

    Sending a WeGoLook inspector ahead of time tells the seller that you, the potential buyer, won’t be meeting him on a dark street with thousands of dollars in cash in your pocket. It tells him that he won’t be able to rip you off by pulling a bait-and-switch on the car he’s selling. It tells him that he’ll need to advertise elsewhere if he wants to victimize someone.

    We don’t let that happen on Geebo.

    And remember, the inspection services isn’t just for cars. It would work just as well for jewelry, computers, artwork or even a rare baseball card. For me, an investment of $49 is worth the peace of mind I get from knowing that I won’t be the next victim out there.

     

  • Greg Collier 8:31 am on May 27, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    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.

     

  • Greg Collier 9:45 am on May 19, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Why won’t Geebo’s competitors take steps to keep their users safe? 

    A couple of months ago, I penned an open letter to my competitors in the online classifieds business, asking them to join me in taking some bold steps to make our sites safer. For some time now, I’ve been standing pretty much alone on my soapbox, promoting Geebo as a classifieds site that puts user safety first.

    As much as I enjoy tooting Geebo’s horn whenever possible, this open letter challenge wasn’t meant to be a promotion of Geebo or otherwise present a holier-than-thou message. This was a way of reaching out responsibly to my counterparts in the industry, as if to say, “Let’s put aside our competitiveness and take the steps necessary to deter criminals from preying on innocent victims, via our sites.”

    Not surprisingly, I didn’t receive one response from any of them – Craigslist, Oodle, Backpage and others. Not one of their executives so much acknowledged my letter. Certainly, I didn’t expect that all of the others would jump on board – but I also didn’t expect them all to ignore my pleas for increased user safety.

    I can only guess why they were non-responsive. Maybe they don’t have the manpower to monitor ad submissions. Maybe they didn’t want to acknowledge a competitor for fear of losing customers. Maybe they don’t see the assaults, murders and rapes that stem from meetings on their sites as their problem. Maybe they just don’t care.

    But how can they not?

    Earlier this month, police in New York City reported two separate assaults on prostitutes who advertised their services online, one on Craigslist and one on Backpage.com. And in San Diego last week, a teenager trying to buy a $600 computer off of a craigslist ad was shot and killed by three other teens during the course of a robbery gone bad.

    Robberies and assaults occur everyday and criminals looking for victims will do whatever it takes to find them. But do our sites have to make it easy for them? There’s no way a crime involving prostitutes would have originated on Geebo, which doesn’t accept personals or escorts ads. Likewise, Geebo’s partnership with WeGoLook is intended to prevent the types of tragedies that occurred in San Diego. By dispatching an inspector to verify the item for sale ahead of time, especially bigger ticket items where a buyer might be carrying cash, WeGoLook and Geebo can offer some assurances to potential buyers that the deal is legitimate.

    I guess I could use this blog solely to toot Geebo’s horn and publicize things like our sponsorship of FAIR Fund’s annual Pearls of Purpose Gala, an organization committed to battling human trafficking of young girls. But that’s just self-serving and doesn’t advance the causes.

    I can’t stop hoping that, even though the recipients of my open letter chose to be non-responsive to me, that they’ll take the words of that letter to heart, take note of the incidents that are originating on their sites and start making the changes that deter criminals from preying on their users.

     

  • Greg Collier 3:31 pm on May 13, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Classifieds and newspapers: More reasons why there’s still a spark 

    In a blog post here last week, I chimed with some thoughts on the relationship of newspapers and classifieds. Newspapers are local brands and, as such, have the advantage of serving as the community’s bulletin board – both online and in print. It’s not too late for newspapers to lean on classifieds for increased revenue.

    I shared my post on the Facebook pages of some newspapers, including McClatchy Newspapers, the company that owns the Sacramento Bee, the hometown paper of Geebo’s birthplace. I was happy to see a comment post by a McClatchy rep, albeit an anonymous one.




    This rep’s argument in the exchange about Career Builder is strong. Newspapers were quick to realize that the most lucrative pieces of the classifieds revenue pie included job listings, real estate and car sales. Those were the community businesses who were doing the advertising.

    But classifieds also included everything else you see on sites like Geebo today – used furniture, rooms for rent or garage sales. Those were the listings from the people in the community, the readers with whom newspapers had a trusted relationship because of their journalism. And even though those 2-line, agate-typed listings for a lost pet didn’t bring in as many bucks as the job listings, they were a link to the community – something that was just as valuable.

    A report released this week by the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University highlighted a case study about TV station KSL in Salt Lake City, which jumped into the online classifieds game early on and focused its efforts around providing a safe online marketplace for its audience. Owned by the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, the station refused adult-oriented ads and screened for potentially fraudulent ads. (via NYT)

    Newspapers once did the same thing. And it’s exactly what Geebo does now.The Columbia University report quotes Clark Gilbert, president and chief executive officer of the station’s online properties, which includes KSL.com. He said:

    “Here’s something hard for old-media people to accept. … Our news content gave a level of trust to the classifieds, and classifieds drove relevance back to the news.” Or, put another way, the fact that readers have come to rely on the classifieds under the KSL brand helped to
    build relevance and credibility in the news as well.”

    Interestingly enough, the same Columbia University report also uses McClatchy Newspapers as a case study, looking at how the chain has had to rethink its advertising model. The linkage between the news side and the ad side of the business is breaking down and news orgs are looking for ways to replace it.

    The report quotes Chris Hendricks, VP of Interactive at McClatchy, who said: “The longstanding premise of content and advertising being inextricably linked has clearly fallen apart.” He said the company has started selling space on Yahoo or Facebook as part of the pitch to local advertisers, essentially turning its own salesforce into the local sales team for worldwide online companies. “It’s almost like we are a sales and distribution company that decided we’re going to fund journalism,” Hendricks said in the report.

    As newspapers rethink their advertising models, it’s important for them to remember that classifieds were once an important element of a lucrative model. Yes, they may be seeing nice returns on employment ads or real estate listings – but are they still the trusted marketplace host for their local readers? There’s still a chance.

     

    • Gary Randazzo 10:44 am on May 18, 2011 Permalink

      I agree with Greg’s assessment that newspapers’ classifieds can play an important role for their community.

      I also agree that newspapers need to rethink how they are approaching the advertising model for the Internet.

      I do not agree that newspapers should become advertising brokers for Facebook and similar programs as an approach to funding journalism.

      Newspaper publishers need to recognize the value of paid subscribers as an audience for advertisers that can be reached consistently. Publishers also need to recognize that subscribers”hire” newspapers to do a lot of jobs. The Internet allows newspapers to do those jobs more effectively and efficiently.

      So rather than reselling programs others have developed and thereby give away the value they create and the ability to create new value, publishers should try to find ways to create programs that do the jobs that Facebook and others do but for their constituency. For example create social networks based on community events and organizations.

      Publishers also need to create a relationship between their print/digital editions and their websites that are symbiotic. Houston Business Journal offers bulk digital editions to businesses and then updates subscribers with emails. I believe symbiotic programs can be created for display and classified advertising and for subscribers.

      I also believe that newspaper publishers are discovering this and will ultimately reclaim ground that has been lost.

  • Greg Collier 3:42 pm on May 4, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Newspapers and Classifieds: They can still be a team in the online age 

    The newspaper industry has certainly fallen on tough times in recent years and it’s sad, in a nostalgic sort of way, to see the old print edition slowly head out to pasture. It had a good run, though, surviving the arrivals of radio, television and around-the-clock cable news before the Internet hit the scene. We now know what a game-changer the Internet was. But despite the warning signs, newspaper executives were caught off-guard by it, blinded by the resiliency of the industry to survive the earlier game-changing forces and convinced that their business model was immune to the power of the Internet.

    Since the beginning, newspapers have made their money from advertising, using the eyeballs of their daily readers to sell pieces of the newsprint page to advertisers eager to showcase their products and services to the folks living in the area. That’s been the basic model for generations and, for quite some time, it proved to be a quite lucrative model. But it wasn’t just those big fancy full-page ads featuring the latest cars or fashions that brought the big bucks for newspapers. The classifieds – those daily agate-typed two-liner listings that advertised things like missing cats, apartments for rent and used cars – were also a newspaper cash cow.

    Geebo, of course, is in the online classifieds business. And a decade ago, when Geebo was just getting started, I pitched what I thought was a slam-dunk of a deal to the Sacramento Bee, the local newspaper where the company was founded. The idea was to upsell classifieds customers – notably employers providing job listings – by including it in both the newspaper’s print edition and also on Geebo, with a 50-50 revenue split. Initially, the executives at the newspaper were excited about the deal but the decision-makers at the top killed the deal. They didn’t understand why the online listings were important. The Internet, after all, was just a fad.

    Fast forward to today and we know how this story has evolved – and just how wrong those newspaper executives were about the Internet. Granted, not every newspaper is struggling in the online landscape. Some have built quite the online presence – albeit a bit late to the game – to showcase their content. And some are bringing in ad revenue by way of those Web pages. But it’s certainly a lot more crowded in that media landscape today than it was 10 years ago. The so-called “citizen journalist” has been empowered by blogging tools, Facebook posts and Twitter, as well as mobile apps and instant digital photography. Readers today have an overwhelming number of choices when it comes to a news provider.

    But let’s not throw in the towel on newspaper companies just yet. The truth is that many of them, especially in medium- or mid-sized markets, still have a lot of life left in their brands, their reputations and their reach.

    Consider this: Newspapers have long been regional news outlets because they had a limited geographical reach, a physical boundary that they held to because of the costs involved with the daily delivery of the product. As regional sources of news, they focused primarily on local headlines but also rounded out the offerings with news stories from the next county, the next state or even the other side of the world – sometimes from wire services, other times from their own correspondents stationed in key cities.

    Today, with the power of the Internet, newspaper companies have the opportunity to expand their reach and compete for readers on a global level – just the same as every other newspaper, or blogger, for that matter. And while that potential reach can be enticing and exciting, there’s also no shame in focusing more on re-building that core local audience, the one that not only wants to know if the planning commission approved the new shopping center but also if anyone spotted Fluffy, the neighbor’s cat, anywhere near Main Street and Central Avenue.

    All of that, of course, brings me back to the classifieds. Here at Geebo, we understand the significance of a global audience. We, too, are looking for ways to expand regional listings to broader audiences. Last month, we announced a partnership with WeGoLook, a company that performs on-site inspections of items – largely big-ticket items like cars or boats – for prospective buyers, regardless of where the product is located.

    We still believe in the power of local and continue to welcome partnerships with newspapers to both localize and globalize their classifieds listings. A site like Geebo already has partnerships with some of the niche sites that newspapers are turning to for specialized listings, such as cars and homes, but can offer them a greater variety of listings because we haven’t limited ourselves to just one partner for car listings or job listings, for example.

    Certainly, classified ads are only one part of the newspaper’s other potential sources of greater revenue. Advertising in the Internet age may be different, but it’s still lucrative – just ask Google. Today, newspapers who target a regional area may not score the big display ad from the national retailer, but it is possible that the local car dealership or grocery store might be interested in reaching that targeted regional audience that’s checking in regularly to keep up with the headlines from their neighborhoods.

    In some ways, things haven’t changed at all.

     

  • Greg Collier 5:05 pm on April 24, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    A partnership with WeGoLook brings peace of mind to classifieds 

    Geebo is becoming known as the online classifieds site that cares about the safety of its customers. We don’t allow personal ads, which are often used to solicit prostitution and engage in human trafficking. We don’t allow guns to be sold, nor do we permit drug transactions. And all ads on Geebo are reviewed before being published, a step that’s meant to keep suspicious activity off the site.

    Now, we’re taking another step to further ensure that the online transactions that appear on Geebo are conducted safely. We’ve partnered with WeGoLook.com, an Oklahoma-based start-up that offers a service to physically inspect an item for sale and provide the buyer with a report that offers a true, independent evaluation of that item.

    It’s a concept that’s a perfect fit for what Geebo is striving to create: a safe haven for online classifieds ads. The “lookers” who perform the inspections for WeGoLook are located across the country, ready to visit a seller and take a look at the “vintage” car, the “luxury” boat, the “slightly used” computer or “rare collectible” to truthsquad the description in the ad.

    In any other scenario, a buyer seeking some reassurances about such a deal would either have to incur the expense of visiting the seller to inspect the item himself – a potentially costly approach – or find a friend who lives near the seller and is willing to check it out.

    The WeGoLook service provides a remedy for a pain point in online transactions, trying to figure out if the product being sold on the other end is really what the seller says it is. Is “vintage” another word for “old and rusty,” when it comes to describing a car. And when it comes to the “luxury” boat, the buyer and seller might have different definitions of what “luxury” really means.

    There’s a certain amount of trust that goes into conducting an online transaction with a stranger but, as we’ve seen in too many unfortunate incidents, the person on the other end isn’t always the most trustworthy. Geebo has worked hard to make the Internet a safer place and the partnership represents an important step toward making the online marketplace safer.

    I’m excited about connecting Geebo customers with WeGoLook and hope that many of them find the service to be an invaluable tool that makes their online shopping experience that much better.

     

  • Greg Collier 7:23 am on March 16, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    My challenge to craigslist: Keep criminals off your site 

    soap-boxLast week, I penned an open letter to my counterparts in the classified ad business, challenging them to follow me in imposing new policies to make their sites safer. (Press release)

    Not surprisingly, none of them has yet to respond to my letter. After all, the changes that I’m suggesting are not easy ones for the site owners to make. Ridding their sites of personal ads and other adult-oriented categories that run amok with criminal activity could impact their bottom lines.

    But those changes could also save lives. And in my opinion, saving a life is more important than making a buck.

    Of course, this is not a new effort. The horn has been sounded many times in the past as the leader in these sites – craigslist – has been put into the spotlight over the criminal activity that has been prevalent on that site, with only a tool for others to “flag” posts as a means of keeping the site safe. Just a few weeks ago, the AimGroup, publishers of the Classified Intelligence Report, called craigslist a “cesspool of crime” and posted details of the crimes that have been linked to the site – from murders and assaults to robberies and prostitution.

    It may be easy to point fingers at craigslist, seeing how the site is the biggest in the online classifieds business, but it’s not the only one turning a blind eye to some of the criminal activities on its site. Change.org recently called out backpage.com for reports of teenage prostitution that originated on that site.

    For several years now, I’ve been that “crazy guy” in the corner screaming about the elephant in the room. But, now that there is a conversation going on about Internet safety, the time is right for this “crazy guy” to once again wave his red flag. It’s not enough to warn users to be careful while interacting with people they meet on classifieds sites. Site owners need to do their parts to deter criminals from making it so easy to lure in victims.

    My goal is to get other classified site owners to join me in an effort to establish best practices in consumer safety. In the long run, it’s good for the industry. But more importantly, it’s good for the consumers. These are our users. Without them, we don’t have a business and we don’t have any income.

    The Wild West days of the Internet are over. It’s time for those of us who operate sites on the Internet to take responsibility for what we’re allowing on our sites. More importantly, it’s time for us to fix the areas that are broken, to allow our humanity to supersede our economic interests so that we can collectively save lives, prevent robberies and rape, halt human trafficking, and stop other scams and illicit activities from occurring.

    Anything less is unacceptable.

    And while the owners of the other classified sites out there – craigslist included – have chosen to ignore my cries for change, I’ll continue to stand on that soapbox – just as I’ve been doing for years – trying to bring some responsibility to the online classified ads business.

    I’d rather be the “crazy guy” in the corner who can sleep at night knowing that I’m doing everything I can to make the Internet a safer place than to be the guy who collects the money at the expense of the innocent victims who found themselves at the hands of a killer – a killer who had a key to an unruly place on the Internet where criminals are welcomed.

     

    • Tiffany Husted 3:31 pm on March 16, 2011 Permalink

      I cannot fathom why these people would not want to make such a significant and obvious change. It makes me ill inside that they do not care about people’s safety and lives to make a few changes to their sites and operations.

    • Peter Franklin 12:35 am on March 17, 2011 Permalink

      From what i gather, craigslist already does quite a bit to screen their ads. Yes, they has the erotic services ads which ran for quite some time. Unfortunately, what was not recognized is that craigslist fully cooperated with legal authorities in the pursuit of criminals around those ads. You think those providers of illicit services or gone? I doubt it, they are probably now further eluding law enforcement or operating elsewhere. I guess I want to applaud your efforts, but cannot help but think you are trying to generate buzz around your site and elevate yourselves to the level of craigslist whereas I suspect they are far more successful than Geebo. Go ahead and correct me if I am wrong.

    • Greg Collier 7:57 am on March 18, 2011 Permalink

      Before addressing anything, I want to reiterate that our call to action is extended to all online classified sites. Human trafficking is an industry wide epidemic that must be fought collectively. Now, upon your suggestion, allow me to correct your shiny spin on Craigslist’s past. The only screening Craigslist provides, and has ever provided, must be undertaken and enforced by its users. A post goes live immediately, with no review by a Craigslist staff member. The plethora of illegal activity that has gone on, largely uninterrupted, is indicative of the failure of their “review process.” Cooperation with authorities is relative when it could be legally compelled. And yes, we are generating buzz about Geebo…because a safe, secure online classified site that cares about its consumers is worth buzzing about. We hope you agree!

    • Randy 1:49 pm on March 27, 2011 Permalink

      I recently saw your comment on a Times Standard article, linking to your blog post and open letter, and have to disagree with pretty much absolutely everything you said.

      First, your claim that sites should be responsible for the actions of their users. Huh? If I make a telephone call and convince some old lady that she’s won the lottery and needs to send me a check, is the telephone company responsible? Should the telephone company have monitored my phone call, scanned it for keywords, and reported it to the police? Or maybe the telephone company should have delayed my call until it was reviewed? Claiming that carrying third-party-generated traffic gives you a responsibility for monitoring and filtering it is utterly absurd, as well as illegal (common carriers were declared responsibility-free a long time ago).

      Filtering ads is not only wrong, it’s impractical. Maybe your useless site has so few postings you can hire a team of people to scan every one of them, but for any useful site, it’s not practical.

      Second, you talk about “adult” ads, then mention housing scams and similar, an obvious attempt at implicating them in many things they are unrelated to. Despite your wording, it is obvious that eliminating “adult” ads does not in any way relate to scams. Only slimy politicians and pr people do stuff like that. If you need to try to trick people to make a claim, you shouldn’t be making it.

      Third, despite some fuzzy happy delusional christian idea that adult activities do not exist, they do. People try to find other people to date. People have sex with other people. In many places, including in this country, people legally perform sexual activities for money. Despite what Alabama would like, people sell “adult” items too. What do you hope to accomplish by attempting to prevent people posting these ads? Every negative thing you mention will still go on regardless of what your classified site does, but you’ll drive off your legitimate users.

      Do you really think some murderer/rapist/whatever is going to stop murdering people because they can’t post a classified ad? Did murders not exist before the internet? “I want to rape and kill someone, but waiting in the bushes is way too much work, so since I can’t post a classified ad, I’m going to take up knitting instead.”? That’s just as idiotic as the people who think banning guns on school grounds will keep school shootings from happening, possibly more so.

      I could go on, but I have useful things to do with my day. However, before doing them, I will be emailing craigslist and every other site I imagine you might have sent your open letter to, with a letter requesting they ignore anything you may say to them.

      –Randy
      (Who has somehow never murdered, raped, or scammed anyone, nor been murdered, raped, or scammed, despite using “unsafe” classified ad sites for a decade and a half or so)

    • Greg Collier 7:14 pm on March 29, 2011 Permalink

      Your comment is one reason why I love the internet and the First Amendment. Where else could we have such a quick, furious exchange of ideas? Geebo, however, recognizes that with such freedom comes responsibility and that is where our policies are derived from.

      Your phone carrier example is an interesting one. Sure, phone carriers are blame free when their customers are unfortunately scammed, but it doesn’t mean they should facilitate or accommodate individuals wishing to utilize their services for illegalities. Those who want to commit a crime are going to do so. However, if Geebo can prevent that crime from being directed at their users or preempt its commission entirely, even once, we will consider ourselves successful.

      Geebo does not ignore the fact that “adult” activities take place. In fact, we are all for it. However, when it comes to love connections online there are sites, such as Match.com and eHarmony.com, that are more suited for the job. The reason over a million people use these outlets are because their private information is protected and fellow users are screened. It is a matter of prioritizing what is important to you as a company.

      Just like you are entitled to your opinion, we are entitled to ours. Where you seem willing to accept the status quo, we are not. There is no right or wrong, just different. We are proud of our approach and, in the interest of internet user safety and security, we will continue to suggest its application to other classified sites.

    • bob gomez 3:46 pm on March 30, 2011 Permalink

      For years the police tolerated street walking prostitution on El Cajon Blvd and they still do. We neighbors knew this would never be tolerated in La Jolla or the neighborhoods of the rich and powerful.

      We would find used condoms on the street, hookers hanging out at bus stops with children and people going to work, Johns parked with hookers in the evenings, violent pimps hiding in the shadows. We have a high school that abuts El Cajon Blvd. NOT good for kids to be around that kind of thing.

      We begged the police for years to do something. Nothing happened for decades.

      Online ads for prostitution have cut the frequency of streetwalkers by 80% or more. Before online ads the only way for streetwalkers to access their clients was our streets.

      Online ads for hookers are the best thing that’s happened to our neighborhood for years.

      Hopefully online porn will put the porn shops and strip clubs in neighborhoods out of business too.

    • Greg Collier 10:45 am on April 1, 2011 Permalink

      Hi Bob,
      I don’t think you and I want separate things. You wanted the police to do their job in monitoring your streets to keep yourself, your family, and your friends, safe. Geebo wants online classified sites to do their job in monitoring their sites to keep yourself, your family, and your friends, safe. I am glad that prostitution has decreased in your community. However, Geebo is a community as well. Aren’t we equally entitled to want something done to clean up our online community? I believe so.

      The problem, whether online or out your front window, might never truly disappear. But this isn’t a reason to do nothing to prevent or preempt its facilitation. I trust you didn’t stop calling the police and requesting action to be taken. Similarly, we won’t either.

    • Hypnogal 12:33 pm on April 8, 2011 Permalink

      Randy. You are not a woman. Gee. Think that might have something to do with your “luck” so far?

    • Hypnogal 12:37 pm on April 8, 2011 Permalink

      As long as there are men who want it and can pay for it, and women who need the money, there will always be porn. Porn is defined by whatever is NOT sexually socially acceptable in public. This varies from generation to generation, culture to culture / nationality to nationality (different for different people). What is considered “porn” or “taboo” to some is not to others.

      Doesn’t make it right – or wrong. It just is.
      But – people dying in the aftermath is very wrong… on many levels.

      Killers don’t kill people – Craigslist kills people?
      Uh, I don’t think too many people wil be buying that bumper sticker anytime soon.

    • PL Frank 1:46 pm on April 8, 2011 Permalink

      Greg,

      What, specifically, does GEEBO do to keep your classifieds safe? What do you recommend other online classifieds sites do?

    • Greg Collier 4:53 pm on April 8, 2011 Permalink

      The ability to engage in, possess, distribute, and enjoy pornographic materials is a right protected by the First Amendment. The ability to traffic women, men, and children into that industry, or any other industry, is not. Geebo is not against porn, internet or print. We are against classified sites refusing to monitor themselves and facilitating human trafficking.

      We agree that your bumper sticker phrase is unlikely to catch on. However, we would suggest that one along the lines of “Safety First, Fun Second” just might.

    • Rob 8:11 am on April 11, 2011 Permalink

      To Greg Collier: You have every right to your opinion and can run your web site any way you want, within the frame of the law. However, you don’t have the right to try and force other websites to operate within the same bounds you do. As long as the other sites are operating within the boundary set by law, you should butt out. You are like politicians who try and push their religious values and morals on the rest of the country, regardless of what the law says. And that is where you will fail. We the people are not bound by yours or anyone else’s moral clause, we all run our lives based on our own moral code and that is how it should be. Run your website how you wish, but don’t try and generate interest in your site at the expense of other legally run websites.

    • Greg Collier 8:31 am on April 11, 2011 Permalink

      PL, thank you for your inquiry. Every submission that Geebo receives is reviewed by a member of our staff. Where other sites allow classified posts to go live immediately, we require them to pass our assessment before becoming accessible to others. This allows us to control what is being posted and ensures that all posts adhere to our guidelines.

      In addition to our thorough evaluative process, Geebo also removed our personal ads section a few months ago. Fortunately, we never had a problem with this section, which we largely attribute to our review system, but we decided to preemptively remove the category. We would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to our users.

      Our suggestion to other online classified sites is to employ an active monitoring process that keeps them safe. Yes, it does take time and it does take money…but aren’t those that keep your business running worth it? We think so.

    • Greg Collier 10:42 am on April 12, 2011 Permalink

      Rob,
      I admire your faith in the law, but most businesses prefer self-regulation to those of the governmentally mandated kind. Government intervention is the likely next step if other classified sites do not modify or enhance their security practices. Geebo surely isn’t expecting everyone to do as we say…but we are sharing our method because it has proven successful and pragmatic in preventing and preempting many evils that have found a home on internet classified sites.
      Admittedly, our decision is both a personal and business one. However, we are a business and, as such, entitled to educate the public about our practices while distinguishing ourselves from others. That is capitalism. Fortunately, our business decisions have translated into a safer online destination.

    • AnonymousB 11:28 am on June 23, 2011 Permalink

      though I wasnt murdered and never met him I was a victim of a sociopath from craigslist and it was horrible

    • AnonymousB 11:28 am on June 23, 2011 Permalink

      and he is an attorney to boot.

    • Carolina 5:48 pm on July 10, 2011 Permalink

      I’m glad to see that in this day and age SOMEBODY is guarding the gate. It’s hard for me to believe that some people are so offended by your attempts to make the internet a safer place that they would actually write letters to other sites asking them to ignore you and keep on keeping on with business as usual. We have become a nation of cold-hearted haters, I see this daily in comment sections all over the web, regardless of the site. I personally think ‘free speech’ has a LOT to answer for. I often wish that this was a right we did NOT have. Not really, but the right to free speech was originally meant to protect us if we said anything against our government. It was to ensure that we couldn’t be imprisoned by disagreeing with people, policy, etc. in/of our government. It was NOT meant to give us the freedom to ‘slander’ other people, to spew out venom in public, to allow bad people to lure others into possible bad positions, etc. I wish that the government could revoke many of the uses to which free speech could be applied. It now seems to be a monster, out of control. We are free to say nearly anything we would like to about nearly anyone. They have had to pass new legislation which makes it illegal to bully a child. There is NO protection for anyone over the age of 18, Reading the comments sections of newspapers, blogs, etc. has made me despair of humanity in general, and I don’t think things will ever get better, but continue to get worse. The concepts of morality, honesty and kindness are nearly relics of the past. WHAT are we teaching our children? Sorry for the rant.

  • Greg Collier 5:49 pm on February 4, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

    Cowboy Up 

    ownitDo you ever blame traffic, existent or fabricated, when you are late to a meeting, to work, or to dinner with your family? Sure. It doesn’t hurt anyone to transfer the fault of your delayed arrival to someone or something else. No harm. No foul. No repercussions.

    I hate this mentality. Unfortunately, I occasionally subscribe to this notion because it prevents me from upsetting my wife, my co-workers, and my friends with the reality that, yes, I stayed to work late, met with someone else first, or simply took the long way home to clear my head. Is that so bad? No. It isn’t. The failure is my inability to admit and take responsibility for my actions.

    It has become a codified practice to blame our shortcomings, failures, and mistakes on someone or something else before personally accepting responsibility. What is most disgusting is that this practice has infiltrated all levels of our existence. Politicians blame our nation’s teachers for the dismal performance of our schools but are simultaneously unwilling to allocate more money to education out of fears over jeopardizing their kickbacks or their likelihood of reelection. Instead of taking responsibility for such actions they blame their Congressional opponents or utilize the ultimate scapegoat, and silencer, national security. But we need national security… and now the crisis of accepting responsibility has been averted because the tax-paying constituents are on to a new subject.

    Office gossip is another example. “Did you hear Meg slept with James? No? Well…you didn’t hear it from me but here are all the details I know…” When Meg confronts you later about your willingness to share her intimacies, how will you respond? Obviously the safest option is to act surprised by the accusations and suggest that perhaps someone else, *cough* James, is sharing their indiscretions. Congratulations on avoiding the workplace drama that would likely ensue…but what kind of person can’t accept the repercussions of their actions? Most people. It is a pathetic reality that I am sick of both being a part of and witnessing.

    Daily, we make decisions through our actions and communications that affect one another. We hold an immeasurable amount of power that, like Superheroes, can either be used for good or evil. Regardless of what end of the spectrum you find yourself on, own up to the things you did, said, or failed to. Are people going to be upset by your candor? Possibly, but perhaps that is a good thing. If you cringe at the thought of accepting the consequences of your less than impressive behavior, holding yourself accountable may help you think twice before you speak or act.

    Cowboy up, people. It is about time.

     

  • Greg Collier 9:07 am on December 23, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Tis the Season… 

    tistheseasonThis is a chaotic time of year. Between work and familial obligations, life seems to speed by when the holidays are upon us. We move so fast from one activity to the next that the adventure in getting to the destination fades into the background with last year’s must-have gadget. Is this hustle and bustle the antithesis of the holiday season? I used to think it was but have changed my holiday-inspired tune as of late.

    Starting in November and lasting until January 1st, I constantly hear people saying “tis the season.” They may be purchasing an extra expensive gift, ordering an extravagant dessert, or emptying their pockets into a collection jar when they spout off this holiday homonym. Such a sentiment used to bother me because it seems silly to only do or make over-the-top gestures once a year. Why not indulge in July? Or splurge in March? Why should a month and a holiday dictate when one chooses to treat themselves and their loved ones exceptionally special? The answer is easy…tis the season!

    You are busy the whole year through but only between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day do we cram a multitude of family-oriented holidays requiring big meals, big spending, and big patience within a six week timeframe. A recitation of “tis the season” is the opportunity to acknowledge such an undertaking and appreciate the moment. The more “tis the season” moments we can have while prepping for the holidays, the better.

    I know the whole “tis the season” comment can seem and sound very cliché when used in practice. The beauty of this mantra, however, is that it doesn’t require an oral admission, just a silent pause for reflection and understanding for the greatness you are experiencing. It can be anywhere, at any time, with anyone, and about anything.

    The other great power of “tis the season” is that it can transcend religious and cultural barriers. If you think “tis the season” is about Jesus, it is. If you think “tis the season” is about the Maccabees, it is. And if you think “tis the season” is about togetherness and love, you are right too. Whatever season you feel like celebrating, “tis the season” fits.

    My wish for you all is to have plenty of “tis the season” moments in the coming days and in the coming year.

     

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