Last week, Craigslist released a feature that finally provides map views for one of its most popular sections: apartment listings. But what would happen if it mapped out the entire site?
According to a 2010 survey by Pew Research Center, 28% of Americans don’t know any of their neighbors by name, and only 9% communicate with them via email. Those unfriendly statistics are something startup Nextdoor.com hopes to change.
Has popular online classifieds site Craigslist become a cesspool of crime? A destination for mayhem? A hub of murders, rapes, robberies, hit-man-for-hire, assault, and fraud? Or is that what competitors would like you to think?
Couch-surfing is only the beginning, says ANYA KAMENETZ. The Internet could unlock our natural impulse to share goals--and a global economy built on the kindness of strangers.