As we ramp up ReinventingClassifieds.com, I’ve been asking people within my professional media contact network to share their views about the future of newspaper classifieds and solutions for resurrecting them. After covering and being involved in the new media world for a decade and a half, I know lots of very smart people.
Alas, so far […]

On his new consultancy’s blog, Joe Michaud (outgoing president of MaineToday.com) comments on the debut of ReinventingClassifieds.com and brings up an interesting issue: What exactly are “classifieds” anymore?
Interesting question. The newspaper industry has used the term for a long time (too long?). Michaud tugs at the question and comes up with this:

Welcome to ReinventingClassifieds.com! This is a new website and initiative that has as its aim resurrecting and reinventing the newspaper classifieds business.
Is that an audacious goal? It feels that way. When I’ve mentioned this project to professional colleagues, the common response has been a sarcastic “Good luck with that!”

Anyone interested in the future of classifieds should keep an eye on Everyblock.com, a new company founded by journalism-geek extraordinaire Adrian Holovaty. The company’s work in adding all manner of information to online maps is particularly relevant to classifieds, though we’ll have to wait a while before the open-source system they’re working on will be […]