With the influx of sophisticated websites and businesses on the Internet, college students certainly have more than enough distractions, but the question still begs to be asked: Need a used TV? Need to lease an apartment near campus? Need to rant on a messageboard after a bad date, or to find the name and address of that charismatic stranger you met eyes with on the T?
An answer to all those questions has arrived, and its name is Craigslist.org. Started in 1995 by Craig Newmark as a newsletter for friends, the site has grown into free community-driven Web sites that are, at the least, glorified classifieds postings and, at the most, the greatest new source of online entertainment since Friendster and Liquid Generation came into being.
"I think [Craigslist] provides a location-specific clearinghouse of information," sociology professor Henry Rubin said. "[It] combines the features of the old classifieds from newspapers -- local and geographically [specific], plus the best features of online technology -- searchable, efficient, unlimited, etc."
Needless to say, Craigslist has a huge following among college students, and Tufts is no exception. "Craigslist is great for people with a tight budget looking for great deals," senior Marny Rosenbloom said. "It's reliable, easy to navigate, and extensive."
Rosenbloom found the site useful while working with her roommates to furnish their new apartment this year.
Other students find more value in the site as a source of entertainment. "I was looking for jobs [on Craigslist] and there was one [listing] for driving around strippers [for] a boombox and small change," senior John Burlock said.
"I think of it as the neighborhood eBay," senior Shamini Mylvaganam said. "I think it's totally legit for college students who can't afford to buy new items." In addition, she appreciated the fact that the site encourages the recycling of used items that might have been thrown out otherwise.
"College students tend to be early adopters when it comes to stuff like this, and I think it serves the need for community integration for a group of people who are adrift in big cities, sometimes for the first time, without family or friends," Rubin said. Professor Leah Cook is currently teaching an ExCollege class on communicating via the Internet. According to the course description, the class explores the role the Internet plays in communication and business.
Cook is skeptical about Craigslist's virtues for Tufts students, and believes that tuftslife.com is more helpful. She does, however, recognize the virtues of Craigslist. "For all students, the Internet has become a way of life," Cook said, "For whatever you're doing -- whether it's getting tickets to a movie, tickets to the Red Sox, dinner reservations, travel arrangements, maps, directions -- people go to the Internet now. I mean, [Craigslist] is popular because the Internet is a way of life, and it's an easy way to get business done."
Cook recommends Tuftslife over Craigslist for students looking to purchase used items because "The list is city-wide and can be used by anyone, including unsavory people that you might not be able to trust," she said. "Tuftslife is a community and it represents our community."
Is Craigslist a sign of things to come? Nowadays, one can get anything from movies to groceries online and delivered to his or her door. Could we wake up in the future to find ourselves in a world of strictly online commerce, the days of small mom-and-pop stores a distant memory? Cook does not believe so.
"I don't believe it's going to completely overtake retail services," she said. "We are women and we like to shop. We like to go into stores and we like to be pampered. Certainly for things like buying women's clothes, I think it's not going to take over that."
"There are a lot of nice little specialty shops, like with artwork," Cook added. "I think that special retail establishments are going to exist, but I think a lot of other businesses are going to move online."
Some students have had trouble using Craigslist. Sophomore Joanna Utoh found the site to be more of a hassle than a help. "I tried to use it and it didn't work out," she said. "I put 'Medford' into the search field and it came up with a guy who was busing people around in his car."
