Craig Newmark founded Craigslist as a hobby in 1995. The site is one of the most popular destinations on the Internet and Craig’s way of seeing things is still much part of how the web company operates.

Craig was very kind to answer our questions about his current role at Craigslist, lessons learned from past work experiences, controversies, customer service, design, and more.

Please check out his very interesting blog and follow him on Twitter.

1. Every month, Craigslist gets 20 billion page views, 40 million new classified ads, and 50 million people looking to buy stuff, meet others, and get a job. What would you have done differently from 1995 to 1999, if you had known what your hobby was going to become?

I wouldn’t have done anything differently overall, but would have listened more to the lawyers and my own instincts.

2. In what ways (positive and negative) did your previous professional experiences help shape the culture of Craigslist?

I learned how important customer service is, and how largeness in organizations leads to dysfunction. For example, in a hierarchy, you get ahead by telling your boss what he or she wants to hear; then he or she tells his or her boss what they want to hear.

3. Craigslist is largely based on trust. Do you often wake up and wonder how your site continues to deliver what it offers despite the controversies and criticisms?

Not a problem, unfair controversies and criticisms just strengthen us, and increase community support and traffic.
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I’ve been using the Flip UltraHD for a little over a week and I’ve been thoroughly impressed. While this portable camcorder is simple and easy to use, it is also quite powerful. I gotta say that this video camera makes me want to take it everywhere.

Why I think you’ll love it too:

• Simplicity: The trademark flip-out USB connector makes it easy to charge and easy to import. Straight to the point user interface. 3 main buttons (big red one to record, side buttons to play and delete). Incredibly intuitive so you can quickly browse through your recordings and import to your computer.
• Size: Pocket-sized and lightweight with 8 GB of built-in memory.
• Speed: You can turn it on as soon as you put in the AA-size NiMH rechargeable batteries it comes with (can also run on standard AAs). Very fast boot-up and response times.
• Cool factor: The camera looks and feels cool. You feel proud when you pull this baby out.
• Quality: With 720p (1,280×720) high-definition video, the Ultra HD looks great on its small LCD screen or a huge HD TV. It shoots beautifully, even in low-light. Oh and, it sounds great too.
• Convenience: HDMI output. FlipShare software is built-in and works with PCs or Mac. Good enough for quick edits and a few fun extras (easily upload to YouTube, impress your girl with a video greeting card, and trim video files).
• Fun: This camera lets you be fun and spontaneous, and so far for me, people have been more than willing to let me record them. Not sure if that’s because of the camera or because of me, but either way, it’s pretty fun :) (more…)

It was my privilege to interview Christopher Barger, Director of Social Media at General Motors, this past Monday morning.

The GM Social Media Team took some time off their busy schedule to talk with me and I write about it on the paragraphs that follow. I also highly recommend that you listen to the interview by downloading our very first podcast on iTunes or streaming it via blogtalkradio:

First of all, let me say that Christopher proved to me, over the course of our 30 minute conversation, that GM is serious in its efforts to engage in sincere communication with real people, particularly during the challenging phase in which the company is operating in. Christopher’s openness and candor, combined with his deep insight and thorough knowledge of the auto industry, make him an example of how to lead a corporate social media initiative.

Now, I did not previously know Christopher or anyone in his team, but I felt as if I almost did by the time we finished talking. As you listen to the interview you will notice that Christopher answered each question with a combination of deep and simple thoughts that he conveyed with confidence, poignant honesty, vision, and passion.

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As a follow-up on our recent video ‘Why I / You / We Tweet“, we thought we’d take one step further and do a survey to find out what Twitter is taking over the headlines, not to mention our lives.

Please take a few moments to share your thoughts.

{ Take Survey Now }

Frank Eliason is the Director of Digital Care at Comcast. His team is in charge of assisting customers on the web. Frank has done a good job of creating an important presence for Comcast in social media, particularly on Twitter. He told us about the importance of the customer experience, the current environment in which Comcast operates, and his personal life. Please send him a tweet after reading!

1. When I first joined Twitter I immediately saw pages for John Mayer, Oprah, and then… Comcast Cares. What caused Comcast to include Twitter as a line of communication for customer care?

As we are working to improve the Customer experience, one of our objectives has been to meet Customers where they already are. We do this in many ways throughout the internet, including blogs, forums, Facebook, and Twitter. This is just a great way to listen to Customers and assist when we can.

2. What internal/external feedback have you received thus far?

Feedback internally and externally has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers love to have a voice and we love the feedback.

3. Often times when a customer tweets @comcastcares with a question or issue they get a reply asking them to email customer care. What plans are in place to get closer to achieving “one-tweet resolution”?

LOL! I love the “one-tweet resolution!” This happens when the trouble that is being reported may require a little research or we may need more information beyond 140 characters. Our preference when possible is to keep it on Twitter. There may be other times, like the other day I was traveling without all my tools, so I asked people to email my team.

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Guitar Hero changed the way we play video games by allowing us to actually feel like we’re playing instruments with a real band. Even non-gamers appreciate the social aspects of the game.

With several titles across all consoles, the game has evolved into one of the best selling franchises ever.

To promote the new “Guitar Hero Smash Hits” game, Activision has put on a interactive award show in which people vote online for their favorite riffs, vocals, breakdowns, and more. All in all there are 9 categories and 48 nominees in the “Guitar Hero Smash Hits Music Awards 2009“, based on the songs on the game (which comes out June 16th).

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Twitter is everywhere. You can’t watch a news segment without hearing about Twitter at least once. The microblogging site/platform has taken off like crazy and it has gained many followers (no pun intended), as well as some harsh critics.

In its attempts to be more transparent, the U.S. government allows their web visitors to “Stay Connected” by including noticeable links to official government accounts on social sites like Twitter. In contrast, Twitter is one of many recently disabled sites in mainland China, ahead of tomorrow’s 20th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown. It is obvious that these two governments have very different views  and very different reasons for how and why they communicate with the public online.

Several companies are now widely cherished in the Twittersphere and even business leaders are opening up to it. In today’s “The Welch Way” BusinessWeek column, Jack and Suzy Welch provided their reasons for tweeting. Aptly titled “Why We Tweet“, it should be interesting even for the biggest skeptic to learn why one of the most widely recognized CEOs in American history is using Twitter and sticking with it.

From tweets coming from the womb and surgery tables (according this New York Times piece), to Forrester research analysts praising Twitter, everybody has a unique explanation. Twitter is indeed a simple tool, but the reasons behind its widespread appeal are as diverse as the people using it.

Here’s a video of people outside a restaurant in Dallas who told us why they tweet. Do us a huge favor and let us know why YOU tweet (by commenting below or sending us an email)!

* Special thanks to: @digitaldoyle, @kitykity, @kylesteed, @deauxmain, @markramsey, @charlesmckeever, @wiredmonkey