3 Basic Craigslist Questions

Craigslist is a one-stop resource for nearly everything a virtual community has to offer. Along with a variety of event, activity, service and goods listings are the forums where people can share their opinions on any number of issues important to them. The fact that Craigslist also gets billions of page views every month shows there are a lot of people who recognize its value. Still, there remains many who haven't heard of, or fully understand, Craigslist quite yet. This article answers three basic questions about Craigslist to help those who don't completely understand how to use Craigslist or what it is.

1. What Is It?

"What is it"? Is probably the most basic question asked when people first hear of the site. You can think of Craigslist as a mixture of the classified ads in a newspaper plus the editorial page combined with a job seeking website, and presented online for convenient access. Another definition of Craigslist is of an online community that has a comprehensive classified section. This includes sections for selling many different goods and services, employment listings, posting resumes or even personal ads. In addition, Craigslist offers a discussion forum covering many subjects - whether for sharing information or debating serious issues.

It really is not as confusing as it may sound. A brief visit to www.craigslist.org makes it clear right away. It's easy to see how useful the Craigslist community is for people looking for all kinds of information, goods or services. Craigslist doesn't just provide all of this information, it does so in a convenient manner. It divides the information into easy to understand categories all based on one of about 450 different geographical areas. This makes it easy to find what's available in any given area.

2. What Can It Do For Me?

Even though you now know what the Craigslist site is, you might still be wondering how it can, specifically, help you. There isn't one basic answer to that question. That's because any benefits depend upon what it is you are hoping to get from the Craigslist community. This section covers some ways to use Craigslist for people looking for goods, services, employment, romance or friends.

Craigslist has a section for people wanting to sell or buy items. People that have something for sale post on the appropriate category to get responses from people that are looking for that item. Craigslist also has a section where people that are looking for specific items can post a request for the items along with the amount they are willing to pay.

Craigslist is also a great site to visit if you're looking for a job. There is a section where people can read employment listings along with a separate section for posting resumes. The flexible employment options (full-time, part-time, contract work, telecommuting, etc.) make Craigslist ideal for people searching for jobs.

Making friends or finding lifelong romantic partners is also possible on Craigslist. The Personals section is where people post or view ads searching for friendship or love. Just like any other dating situations, you need to be careful that any meeting with a potential friend or date is safe. Always arrange the initial meeting in a busy public place. You can also bring along a trusted friend to make the meeting safer.

3. What Can It Do For My Business?

There are benefits for business owners on Craigslist too. The fact that Craigslist receives billions of page views on a monthly basis makes it efficient to reach large numbers of people. The simplest way is to post ads promoting whatever it is your business offers. You can also use Craigslist to research what your competitors are doing to reach potential customers.