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A review by devinsf
An Internet for the People: The Politics and Promise of Craigslist by Jessa Lingel
5.0
If you've used the internet during the past 15 years, you've probably encountered Craigslist. But as time, technology, mobile devices, and web aesthetics tumbled along, CL has remained largely and — for lack of a more precise term — happily unchanged. Lingel takes an academic look at the ideological impetus for, and sociopolitical implications of the company's design choices, with an emphasis on its "update minimalism" and use of anonymity.
The book is divided into two parts, with the first covering the platform's history, its context WRT print classified ads, and the stance the company has taken in several key legal battles (a particularly interesting chapter). The second part covers various notable uses of the site, and is interleaved with interviews and analysis about the way its users handle interactions within the frame of CL's holdout, and increasingly unusual, web-1.0 ethos.
Finally, Lingel spends some time discussing how CL's design practices relate to common criticism of today's dominant web-2.0 platforms (for example, Goodreads' parent company, Amazon). All-in-all, a worthwhile deep dive into that magical 90s landscape of text links where we've bought and sold couches, drum kits, slow cookers, and cars; found apartments, jobs, pickup basketball games, and maybe even true love.
The book is divided into two parts, with the first covering the platform's history, its context WRT print classified ads, and the stance the company has taken in several key legal battles (a particularly interesting chapter). The second part covers various notable uses of the site, and is interleaved with interviews and analysis about the way its users handle interactions within the frame of CL's holdout, and increasingly unusual, web-1.0 ethos.
Finally, Lingel spends some time discussing how CL's design practices relate to common criticism of today's dominant web-2.0 platforms (for example, Goodreads' parent company, Amazon). All-in-all, a worthwhile deep dive into that magical 90s landscape of text links where we've bought and sold couches, drum kits, slow cookers, and cars; found apartments, jobs, pickup basketball games, and maybe even true love.