I agree with Ziggy… If CL and/or ebay don’t see the value in video, with a position similar to Curms.. the market will choose the winner whom ever is right.

I don’t think this is a technology discussion… I have no idea how video compromises craigslist’s amazing service as “a place where “I” can simply sell to “You”. … I also don’t see hiring madison ave. folk to create an ad for my 96 Jetta listing either… although, the way the market is going for Mass Advertising… they probably would take the job.

The beauty of the Internet is that you’re NOT limited like you are with print media.

You ask “what does video have to do with” a site dedicated to user generated content…well I pose the question back, what does a photo have to do with it? CL allows folks to upload a photo…user generated content should be whatever the person wants to generate. And if it’s more helpful in describing their product or service, then why not?

And as far as user-generated content and video, I refer back to YouTube, which is entirely user generated content.

And I think what video has to do with the progression of classified ads, or Internet advertising in general, is that the web has moved toward more capability. Include video if you want to…because you CAN.

But as far as craigslist–which for some reason this seems to have become a discussion about–there’s no video capability there and no one is saying there should be. And as you know, unless the CL users want it, Mr. Newmark won’t be changing a thing.

So stop worrying about video on CL, and let the other sites offer that option if they want to. People will use it if they find it useful, and if not, they won’t.

Lets strip this argument down further. In my mind, video; and other “heavy” media components are a detriment to the true value of this medium. Once you start concerning yourself with “production values” you start to loose out on the power that craigslist provides; i.e. a place where “I” can simply sell to “You”. AND, isn’t that what all this Web 2.0 stuff is all really about?

The classified section of the ol’ newspaper used to be a place were one could cut through all the Madison Ave. advertising clap trap and find the stuff they need locally – Craigslist remains one of the only truly peer to peer utilities remaining on the internet. A site almost solely dedicated to user generated content devised solely for user to user interaction.

What does video have to do with that?

or you can buy your car from somewhere else… like craigslist… a place I would never buy a car, but would buy a book, or a computer bag… but I guess, no video required for that… so the value remains, particularily for big ticket items, like autos and houses…

Also not everyone wants to have to maintain a YouTube account…I, for one, don’t. Why go to two different places? That’s a lot more work. Plus CL users often have the lovely habit of flagging down people who include links to other sites, so not sure how you would get around that.

And you would still have the same issue of “poorly lit and badly cut videos…”, as just putting the video on YouTube doesn’t resolve the issue of the director/editor of the film, LOL.

I also don’t think the thrill of video will wear off, it’s certainly not wearing off at YouTube!

Also the Pay Per Listing program is a nice feature…which is a new concept that no one else seems to be doing except Listasaurus.

I think there’s room for everyone, CL is great because of the traffic, I still use it as well. But it’s not the end all be all and certainly there’s room for some healthy competition. I think Yellowpages and some other similar sites are starting to incorporate video as well…

But good discussion, nonetheless!

Of course; if I were to post my car on craigslist; AND I did have some time to shoot a video. I could always point prospective users to video of the car on my YouTube page [let them cover the cost of that]…

I think this concept will catch on as it becomes more commonly used, and also if people are selling items like a car, house or something mechanical where you can show the moving parts. I also think it will become more helpful from a business to consumer standpoint, for businesses to promote their products and do a “commercial” of sorts.

(Oh and Listasaurus isn’t my site, actually it’s run by a friend of mine…)

One thing I do like about Listasaurus is that you’re not required to include a video…the choices are a good thing, because sometimes creating a video is overkill for something say, like a book. And I think there will always be those folks who just can’t be bothered to put a video out there.

As far as increasing the profile for the video sites, I believe it’s like anything else. A combination of different types of marketing, word of mouth and of course, necessity and demand will pave the way for the video sites.

Hope this sheds some light! Thanks Collin for keeping the discussion going.

Content is king, and video classifieds has to identify the markets where video makes most sense.

I believe that a sleek, technologically dominant video classifieds platform that connects small businesses with their customers is needed to attain critical mass and go on to become a household name. Naturally, my company iMoondo is in the best position to do so