Fight breaks out, shots fired after Concord man solicits woman on Craigslist

CONCORD
— A man got into a tussle at his home early Monday with a woman he had
solicited online and then was shot at by her male companion as she
escaped, police said.

The shooting was reported about 12:05
a.m. in the 4700 block of Matheson Court, police Cpl. Kerry Cerletti
said. The 37-year-old victim told police he was seeking female
companionship when he contacted a woman who went by the name "Angel" on
Craigslist, Cerletti said.

When the woman arrived at the home,
the man set down $100 on a table. The woman then asked for a drink of
water, and the man went to the kitchen for a glass. When he got back,
he saw the woman, cash in hand, heading out the front door.

The
two began to wrestle, and as they struggled, the woman called out to
someone outside. Soon after, a man carrying a handgun ran toward the
front door. When the victim saw the armed man, he pushed the woman out
and tried to slam shut the door. That's when the man fired two shots
through the door, striking the floor inside.

Online classifieds represents 14% of overall domestic online spending

According to data released by Barclay analysts, online classifieds represents 14% of the overall domestic online spending! This number is forcasted to keep growing until 2012, and is definitely a market we feel comfortable in with the economy taking a dive. We see more and more users doing business on a local level, and hiring people they trust in times like these. We feel confident that we deliver a product that solves both of these needs.

"The flow of dollars from newspaper classifieds is evident in a 5% growth in online classifieds (like Craigslist and Yahoo HotJobs) to $3.5 billion in 2008, representing 14% of overall domestic online spending. The Internet (led by search and Google) continues its double-digit growth, but a much slower 17% increase to $24.8 billion in 2008 and a more modest 14% growth rate in 2009."

U.S. online classifieds will grow from $3.9 billion to $9.1 billion

According to The Kelsey Group Online, U.S. online classifieds will grow from $3.9 billion in 2007 to $9.1 billion in 2012.

"During the forecast period, U.S. online classifieds will grow from US$3.9 billion to US$9.1 billion (18.6 percent CAGR) and online verticals (such as home services, home and garden, health care, legal and auto repair) will grow from US$100 million to US$5.6 billion (461.4 percent CAGR)."

That is a huge jump, and as more and more people start using the internet, we believe this number could break expectations!

Robbery Suspect Uses Craigslist to Make Getaway

A man wearing a yellow vest, blue shirt, and respirator mask sprayed pepper spay in the face of an amored car driver and took off with his loot. He ran down to a creek and jumped on an inner tube and floated away -- further down the road sat a group of nearly a dozen men dressed the exact same way waiting for a contractor that posted a fictitious job on Craigslist -- who never showed up.

Mike, who wanted to be identified only by his first name, told KING-5 that he saw a Craigslist ad last week seeking workers for a road-maintenance project. He inquired and was e-mailed instructions to meet near the bank at 11 a.m. Tuesday and to wear specific clothing."Yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask ... and, if possible, a blue shirt," Mike told KING-5.

No contractor met Mike and about a dozen other similarly dressed men who showed up at the bank, and they thought they had been stood up. Then, KING-5 reported, a man told them about the bank robbery.

" 'Yeah, guys, we just got scammed,' " Mike said the man told him. "Bank robbery just happened to be right across the street, in the same attire in all the e-mails that everyone got."

Police are investigating the ad to determine whether it is linked to the robbery, Willis said.

Craigslist a haven for Crooks?

Canada.com recently wrote an article titled, "Craigslist a haven for crooks..." -- here's an excerpt:

"Craigscrimelist also listed the experience of a Maine father of four who advertised his handyman services so he could feed his kids and was
e-mailed by someone offering to pay him to sexually abuse one of his children."

How much trust do you put in the anonymous people on the other side of Craigslist? It seems there is a real need for greater level of trust in the online classifieds market. Everyday we hear stories of people getting ripped off on Craigslist, and a number of other 'anonymous' listings sites. Why do people put trust in these people they have never met? Because they NEED something.

We all have needs, and we are willing to do sometimes crazy things to fulfill those needs. There needs to be a system that allows people to know WHO they are doing business with, and what others thought of doing business with those people...

But who shall provide that? :)


Stay tuned.Technorati Tags: craigslist, classifieds, jobs, work

Playing with a new look

We are changing up the user interface of the site a bit. We are pretty excited about the new look, and think you guys will digg it! We completely changed the top level navigation, and made some user experience changes that make it easier for the user.

If you know me, you know that I am absolutely horrible about keeping secrets. My wife knows her Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving! So, I can't help but share a little sneak peak:

Consumer Centric

Welcome to the Workstir blog!

We are very busy building the next evolution of online classifieds, and can't wait to show it to you. One of the key components to Workstir is that we believe the consumer should have every possible way imaginable to post a need. This is illustrated by our homepage having a clear and distinctive flow of action.


You won't need an account to get your post started. We are encouraging our users to just start posting. We feel that the more posts we have in the system, the more likely we are to attract the right type of service providers. So when you receive your e-mail to start participating in the private beta, don't be afraid to just start posting needs you may have!