This sure sounds like a move towards an RBE type situation.
http://www.brassmask.com/news.phpIn a staggering turn of events, an executive of a company has stated that it is more important to serve the customers of his business than necessarily increase profits.
What can only be called a deathwish must have led Jim Buckmaster to tell a UBS global media conference that Craigslist exists to help people communicate needs and offers and not so much to make money. When asked how Craigslist intended to "maximize revenues" his answer, flying in the face of everything that attendees perceive as holy, was simply, “That definitely is not part of the equation,†he said, according to MediaPost. “It’s not part of the goal.â€
The Tech Trader Daily blog ponders this question: “If YouTube was worth $1.65 billion, who knows what Craigslist would be worth if Jim and [site founder] Craig Newmark ever considred becoming — what’s the word? — capitalists.â€
Craigslist charges money for job listings, but only in seven of the cities it serves ($75 in San Francisco; $35 in the others). And it charges for apartment listings in New York ($10 a pop). But that is just to pay expenses.
Mr. Schachter still did not seem to understand. How about running AdSense ads from Google? Craigslist has considered that, Mr. Buckmaster said. They even crunched the numbers, which were “quite staggering.†But users haven’t expressed an interest in seeing ads, so it is not going to happen.
Following the meeting, Mr. Schachter wrote a research note, flagged by Tech Trader Daily, which suggests that he still doesn’t quite get the concept of serving customers first, and worrying about revenues later, if at all (and nevermind profits). Craigslist, the analyst wrote, “does not fully monetize its traffic or services.â€
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/12/08/craigslist-meets-the-capitalists/
A business that doesn't intend to increase its profits? And doesn't feel the need to keep it on the downlow? What is this? Cuba?
As someone who delights in hearing of corporationists getting the slapdown applied to their belief system, this can only be declared a
DAY.
Furthermore, my subject line was something of a funny when I posted it but as I have typed, it seems to me that this may not happen literally, but could potentially happen figuratively. Corporatists in America can't sit idly by as an upstart brings communism into the mainstream of financial America. This could lead to widespread TRUE Communism in America.
Seriously.
Imagine someone like Buckmaster getting a CEO gig at some place like Citigroup or, heaven forbid, Exxon. (like that could ever happen) But imagine someone following in his image? Exxon reducing profits? Exxon existing only to hand out gas and oil and not to make billionaires even more billionairey? How would we know that they are more important or more valuable to the world if they weren't the most billionairey?
We wouldn't. And instead of there being classes ranging from The Extreme Have's to The Absolute Have Not's, we'd have a world of Moderately Comfortable, Highly Educated Have's. And what kind of world would that be with no way for 1% of the populace to look down on the other 99%. Don't they have rights? That 1% has the right to use a tool to buy them the importance that they normally wouldn't have if all things were equal, don't they?
Buckmaster's business model is smart and more importantly Honorable.
