Craigslist: The Last Ungentrified Place on the Internet?

Despite the proliferation of modern, algorithm-driven marketplaces, Craigslist remains a vital resource for many users seeking jobs, housing, and unique opportunities. The platform is credited with facilitating pivotal moments in the lives of long-time users, ranging from securing initial employment to acquiring real estate.

Unlike competitors such as Etsy or Facebook Marketplace, the site prioritizes anonymity and lacks tracking algorithms, public profiles, or social currency metrics. This structure disincentivizes clout-chasing, creating a space where strangers can make meaningful connections. The platform has even been utilized to cast experimental television productions, proving its utility extends far beyond simple classifieds.

For writer and comedian Megan Koester, Craigslist has been the foundation of her professional and personal life for over 15 years. Her trajectory began when she responded to an ad on the site, securing her first writing job reviewing Internet pornography.

Years later, she utilized the listings website to find the rent-controlled apartment where she continues to reside. When the desire to purchase property arose, Koester scrolled through Craigslist and discovered a parcel of land in the Mojave Desert. She subsequently built a dwelling on the site and furnished it entirely with items found in the site’s free section.

"There’s so many elements of my life that are suffused with Craigslist," says Koester, 42. Her dedication to the platform is evident; she currently manages an Instagram account dedicated to cataloging screenshots of "harrowing images" from the site’s free section.

Craigslist represents a distinct departure from the modern social web. Unlike flashier online marketplaces such as DePop, Etsy, or Facebook Marketplace, the platform does not use algorithms to track users’ moves or predict what they want to see next.

The site operates without offering public profiles, rating systems, or "likes" and "shares" to dole out like social currency. As a result, Craigslist effectively disincentivizes two behaviors that dominate other platforms:

• Clout-chasing
• Virality-seeking

This approach fosters a utopian vision of a much earlier, far more earnest Internet where money does not always have to be exchanged and anonymity is still possible.

The platform's utility extends beyond personal errands and into the entertainment industry. It serves as a venue for strangers to make meaningful connections for straightforward transactions and unusual creative projects alike.

Experimental TV shows have utilized the site to find participants. Specifically, productions such as The Rehearsal on HBO and Jury Duty on Amazon Freevee have leveraged the platform to cast their shows.

For Koester, the site remains an essential, if anachronistic, part of everyday life. Regarding her reliance on the platform, she states simply, "I'm ride or die."