To Craigslist: Thank you.

Newspapers should thank Craigslist. Proof positive that FREE is a business model. An affirmation that classifieds are valuable a product, and worth fighting for. We are reminded that innovation is a necessity, not just a concept taught in business schools or Silicon Valley.

Innovation is a a key habit that all media organizations will need to adopt in order to move their profit centers into the digital era. Craigslist is not a technical marvel, it is a social one. Any local media organization can launch a site exceeding Craigslist’s feature set for under $200 by using software like NOAH’S CLASSIFIEDS. So what is stopping us? They even have a hosted product now for publishers with limited technical resources. How can we afford NOT to innovate?