From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Thu Mar 03 2005 - 16:11:49 PST
http://www.craigslist.org/about/space.html PRESS RELEASE
Online Community Set To Leap Beyond Solar System
"It looks like we may hit 2 billion page views per month in March here on Earth," noted craigslist customer service rep and founder, Craig Newmark. "We wanted to be the first to offer free job postings, apartment listings, personals and other classifieds to the extraterrestrial community. We believe there could be an infinite market opportunity," chuckled Craig as he turned back to his computer screen to respond to craigslist customer service emails.
craigslist announced the ambitious plan after CEO Jim Buckmaster won an auction on eBay for the first private communication to be transmitted into deep space by Deep Space Communications Network<http://www.deepspacecom.net/>, of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Noting that such transmissions have long been the exclusive domain of military and research institutions, Buckmaster said "We're thrilled to offer our users this historic opportunity", and added that negotiations were ongoing with DSCN for transmission capacity orders of magnitude beyond those offered in the original auction, to accommodate the interstellar messaging needs of the mammoth online community.
Effective immediately, all earthlings posting to craigslist will have an opportunity to earmark their message for inclusion in the historic transmission from Cape Canaveral, immediately following the launch of the Discovery Space Shuttle - currently scheduled for May 15, 2005. Deep Space Communications Network will transmit the postings, along with a personal video message from Craig, and a clip from the documentary "24 Hours on craigslist" light years into space, for the benefit and edification of potential future craigslist community members in the great beyond.
When asked about the reason for using the Deep Space Communication Network to get the word out intergalactically, Jim Buckmaster, CEO of craigslist noted, "We checked into doing a direct mailing but the postage rates are just out of this world, and getting a carrier to commit to delivery verification was impossible. We know that SETI is working on securing a good list of contacts but we didn't feel right about waiting any longer. Why not just put the service out there, doesn't have to be perfect at first, and let folks respond with feedback on how we can make it better"
About craigslist
About Deep Space Communications Network
Media Contacts
Deep Space Communications Network: Susan Kohl, 209-586-5887, skohl_at_sierracomm.com<mailto:skohl_at_sierracomm.com>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.6
: Sat Mar 05 2005 - 10:45:42 PST
February 28th, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:
Susan MacTavish Best
susan_at_bestpr.net<mailto:susan_at_bestpr.net>
craigslist users to be first to transmit internet postings into deep space
San Francisco, CA (USA) : Today craigslist, global leader in local classifieds and online community, announced plans to offer its users the opportunity to have their postings transmitted trillions of miles beyond the confines of the Solar System. craigslist currently handles 5 million earthly postings each month, from 8 million humans, in 99 cities and 19 countries on the planetary surface.
Founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark, craigslist is known worldwide as an archetype of online community - a democratic, trustworthy, and efficient platform for fulfilling basic human needs, as guided by real world communities everywhere. craigslist includes classified listings for jobs, housing, goods and services, personals, events, and community, plus a wide variety of discussion forums.
Deep Space Communications Network was launched in January 2005 by a group of respected professionals with over 20 years of experience providing satellite communications and video production and programming services to the government and commercial space programs. www.deepspacecom.net<http://www.deepspacecom.net/>
craigslist: Susan MacTavish Best, 415-505-0301, susan_at_bestpr.net<mailto:susan_at_bestpr.net>