The best things in life are free

Actually, I feel the need to sing the praises of craigslist a bit further. I've spent a lot of time on the net - some might say an inordinate amount - and I really feel it's the jewel in the crown. Yet almost no one I know has heard of it.

Here's a bit of the blurb about "24 Hours on Craigslist" - the film of the concept (no, I am not kidding) Anyway, it will give you the general idea. Basically craigslist:

• Is responsible for billions of dollars of interpersonal commerce—more than any other stop on America's internet.
• Provides the majority of housing and jobs for the nation's urban population.
• Has hooked up more people than ALL other dating sites combined.
• Has grown in web traffic 100% a year since it's creation over a decade ago.
• Is 99.99% FREE to use and 100% FREE of banner adds, pop-ups or any other annoying internet advertising which you are probably seeing out of the corner of your eye at this very moment.

Since Craig Newmark founded the site in 1995 simply to "help out, in a very small way" he has resisted an onslaught of advertising offers, multi-million-dollar buy outs and even the courtship of national TV shows and Hollywood studios.

Now that is my kind of guy. And craigslist is my kind of site. I've used it to arrange houseswaps in NY, rent rooms and apartments, make friends and find dinner dates (back in my halcyon single days). Not to mention just entertaining myself reading people's ads - the personals alone will keep you amused/bemused for hours. The 'Best of' section on the left contains some of the funniest prose I have ever read. Anywhere.

So, if you've not discovered it, don't waste another moment. Check out the NY site (newyork.craigslist) to see how good it can get. Then find the one for your local town and get posting. Grass roots participation doesn't get any better than this.