Competition for Craigslist

For the last year I have struggled with this idea of a community devoted to bartering.  In my imagination it is an expanded, feature rich version of craigslist barter section.  The idea is that cash is hidden in the couches and under floorboards and credit is well where credit is and should be (limited) so why not have a community where people can barter products and services.  Lets say I have Blazer tickets, but can’t make the game and I need cleaning services prior to the holiday’s.  I go to “bartertown” and post … tickets for cleaning.  How is this different than craigslist … it is different in that I would have a barter profile and it would also rate individuals so that there is a level of trust built into the system.

Anyway, I have yet to find a developer to work for free so I am stuck in my imagination.  However, my brain is being tickled a bit by these new opportunities .. Walmart Classified ads and Kijiji (ebay’s version).  They are similar to craigslist, but it offers people like me the ‘idea’ that there are new ways to promote local things, find new deals or sell your stuff to a different set of people.  It is about breadth …

For those small businesses that I have worked with who know how to use craigslist to promote their services these two additional tools ‘might’ offer more eye balls which could turn into more customers.  I highly recommend trying them out, but remember to check you analytics and keep the ads going for 60 -90 days.

• www.kijiji.com

• http://walmart.oodle.com/

Happy posting!

Save a Tree — Cancel Your Phone Book

What accounts for 660,000 tons of trash a year? Phone books!!! For those of you who use phone books there are more efficient ways to look up information it is called Search Engines. I personally don’t even recall the last time I used a phone book, but I do recall visitors who have asked. So, some of us still use old yellow.

Alternatives:

• Looking for a new product or service try a search engine (kind of a duh). My preference is google.
• Google SMS – send a text message to 466453 with business name and zip code, and you’ll get the number and address sent to you)
• www.yellow.com
• Looking for a friend or family phone number try FaceBook. Go to All Friends > Phone Book.

So, what to do with those big yellow books that collect dust? Recycle. If you have curb side recycling dump the books in your recycling bin. To cancel your phone books enter your information here YellowPagesGoesGreen.

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