Name: Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #550
Uploaded: 2024-12-12T17:42:00.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #550' from Theo Von on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-12-12. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #550' from Theo Von on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-12-12. Transcript available.

Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #550

I have some new tour dates to let you know about.
I'll be in East Lansing.
I'll be in Toledo, Ohio.
Rama, Ontario in the Canada.
Pittsburgh, PA.
Eugene, Oregon.
Kennewick, Washington.
Seattle, Washington.
Victoria, BC in the Canada.
College Station, Texas.
Belton, Texas.
San Antonio, Durant.
Amarillo.
Oxford, Mississippi.
Howdy, howdy.
Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
And Tallahassee, Florida.
Rosemont, Illinois.
Winnipeg.
And Calgary in the Canada.
Get all your tickets at theovon.com slash T-O-U-R.
Thank you so much for your support.
And thank you to the fella in Montana that gave me this jacket.
Got some Indian artifacts on the back.
And I just want to say thank you.
I really like this jacket.
We've also got some new merch, some new gang gang tees in pepper and ivory.
And we've got a new gang gang hat.
That gigity.
Check those out and more at theovonstore.com.
Happy holidays to everyone.
Today's guest is an entrepreneur and a philanthropist.
He worked at IBM.
He worked at Bank of America.
But most people know him as the founder of Craigslist, a site that has given so
many unique experiences
to the world.
We're so happy to get to spend time today with Craigslist's own, Craig Newmark.
And just want to let you know, like, we're just excited you're here.
And we don't have any, this isn't like a, like a got you podcast.
We're not trying to do anything uncomfortable.
Um, you know, obviously you've had a very unique life and, um, we just want to,
I think we're
curious about it, you know?
Well, two episodes ago you had Ryan Martin.
Yeah.
And I learned, uh, one big thing on, uh, on thinking about what he had said.
So, uh, I'm, I'm prepared to even mention that because, uh, he made me realize
something which
I won't be able to do anything about, but at least understanding helps.
Oh, about anger.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He's, uh, yeah, I thought Ryan Martin was really interesting.
He's a professor over in Green Bay because I think anger is something that's
kind of enveloping
people a lot these days.
You know, I find it a lot in myself and you'll almost get him.
I mean, obviously it's, it's kind of embarrassing.
You know, it's a weird feeling that's like, you know, it can lead to a lot of
negativity
can lead to, you know, dangerous activities, but it also, you, I feel that you
get embarrassed
of it, you know, and it kind of just takes you over.
Well, in my case, it's tied in with some traumatic stress.
And my deal is I learned the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished.
I learned that a person who's basically honest will never be able to
successfully deal with
a person who lies for a living.
Uh, that's very frustrating because I have to keep it in.
Someday somebody may, uh, be able to do it, to deal with it.
Maybe with some help from me someday, uh, some situations may turn into, uh,
some real drama,
possibly criminal referrals.
But I'm the kind of guy who people for years have been told, have been telling
me that, uh,
some areas, I just don't have the skills and I contribute by not talking.
Hmm.
So do you feel like you're kind of a quiet guy sometimes?
Uh, generally quiet, generally restrained, except for reasons of, uh, comedy.
I, uh, um, no, I know that I'm not as funny as I think I am and yet, like I
tell my philanthropic
grantees that, uh, I would like for them to tolerate my sense of humor, but not
encourage
me and so far that's worked out well, um, particularly last night, the above
Woodruff thing, I did
briefly hang out.
What was it last night?
Just so, just so we can tell our listeners now.
Yeah.
Last night there was a fundraiser for the Bob Woodruff foundation.
They run a network called got your six, got your six, got your six, like in the
military.
That's your bet.
Yeah.
And, uh, about 350 organizations who are actually good at helping and many
philanthropic
organizations are challenged when it comes to actually helping, but these guys
are good.
They need a lot of money to help out, help out vets and their families.
And, uh, this was both a comedy concert and a music concert.
The guys, I think it was Mike, Mark Normand.
Oh, Mark Normand was there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He's great.
And we're both from new Orleans.
Well, start, starting from there.
There's a Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld and John Stewart on the comedy side,
which was
great for me.
Yeah.
Um, and then on the music side, Nora Jones, and then there's this guy, uh, uh,
Springsteen.
Yeah.
Cause I, I had spoken to him before and I told him, uh, that, uh, as a nerd, I,
I understood
that he was very popular, but that I don't know his music and he reacted, uh,
uh, quite,
uh, satisfactorily.
Um, his jaw dropped his wife, this was a few years ago when his wife got the
joke immediately.
The, the, the, the better part of the joke is I was being literal.
I really am a nerd.
Yeah.
Um, I'm the kind of guy in the, uh, late sixties in high school, I wear a
plastic pocket
protector thick black glasses taped together, no social skills.
So you really, you, did you kind of embody that nerd vibe?
Like you were like, you saw a nerd and you were like, I'm going to be over here.
I'll be there.
Uh, I had to, uh, originally, uh, you found the, the store of, uh, old photos.
Oh, wow.
That's me in high school.
That's net.
Those are the thick black glasses.
Oh yeah.
Not taped together at the time.
Now see, I can simulate or fake normal human social behavior now, but it is a
simulation.
I have to, uh, I have to work hard on it all the time.
Uh, and, uh, after a while I will start getting, uh, start getting cranky.
Okay, but the nerd cliche originated right around when I was around.
So I do take credit for it.
Well, we're glad to have one of the most nerd torius humans.
Um, Craig Newmark.
Thanks for hanging out, man.
I appreciate it.
You know, we're in, we're in the Chelsea hotel.
Number two.
Do you know that?
I know you're a Leonard Cohen fan.
Yes.
And so, and this is, he had songs based that were based out of here.
I think he spent time with Janis Joplin here.
He did.
Yeah.
Allegedly.
And well, I'm, uh, uh, near where I live in the, uh, in the village, not far
away.
Walking distance.
Um, I have a friend, my, uh, comedy consultant, and he lived here during that
heyday.
He knew both of them and others.
Um, he was intimidated by, uh, by Leonard Cohen.
See, this friend was in the process of transitioning from music to comedy,
which turned out to be easier
for him to do.
He was really big in the seventies and eighties.
He may not have invested well.
Um, cause I saw him, uh, saw him yesterday.
Um, but he's, uh, much funnier than I am for real.
Yeah.
Okay.
And, uh, uh, that's why I know that I'm not as funny as I think I am.
Very fair.
You look, you got, you're doing okay with me so far.
Yeah.
Uh, thank you.
If I knew you better, I'd, I believe comedians indulging, indulge in a practice
called, uh,
uh, breaking balls.
Oh yeah.
I will introduce my friends sometimes as a guy who used to be funny.
Uh, I will tell him, oh yeah, comedy requires, uh, actually funny material.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's a good, that's a good starting.
That's a good starting point.
But he's, he's given me a couple jokes to use, reminding me that am I at his
age and my age,
when you get down to tie your shoes, you look around and you think, what else
can I do while
I'm down here?
Yeah.
And, uh, unfortunately that's turned true.
When I do get down, I'm, I'm, I have some worries about being able to get back
up again.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Once you get onto the ground floor again, sometimes you kind of want to stay
down there.
I, um, I used to, we used to listen to Leonard Cohen when I was a kid.
My mom would put it on when we would, uh, when we would have to clean the house
on Saturdays
and my mom would put it on, um, that I remember that song, uh, when the walls
came down.
Okay.
That's, uh, older school, even for Leonard.
All the way to hell.
And we'd be like, all right, I'll, I'll clean.
Yeah.
I, uh, vaguely remembered, uh, him.
Well, in like 88 or so, uh, I'm your man premiered and I love that.
And first we'll take Manhattan.
And then I found, uh, various positions.
What is that first we'll take Manhattan and with then we'll take Berlin and we'll
take Berlin.
Yeah.
Dude, that's crazy.
That's those lyrics have mildly been in my head over the years.
And I didn't even know that that's where they were from.
They were from Leonard Cohen.
Yeah.
He influenced a lot of musicians after, uh, he's my favorite to, uh, in an
obsessive way.
And now and then when I'm in the right mood, I will listen to him.
He's, uh, not cheerful by the way most people will think about him.
He's a little dark.
Yeah.
But he's uplifting if you're into it.
Yeah.
He reminds me of a kind of a darker Anthony Bourdain of music in a way.
I, uh, I haven't thought about that.
Um, but I'm, I'm trying not to think too much about food.
Okay.
Okay.
Well, why you have a, you're, well, my problem simply is that since I've been
on the run all
morning, I did pass a place which had what looked like a good slice of, uh,
pumpkin pie.
Oh yeah.
Brother.
I, uh, however, may have been disappointed.
Mm-hmm.
So I'll think of something, uh, later this afternoon.
Something a little less risque, huh?
Well, my problem is that, uh, uh, food is just too delicious and it's hard to
know when to stop.
Yeah.
Well, it's funny because they don't put a stop sign at the bottom of a dessert
or something.
Um, that may or may not be, uh, helpful.
I will, uh, face the challenge in roughly, uh, two hours.
Okay.
There we go.
Well, we have you for a limited time today.
I do want to talk.
Um, you are the Craig from Craigslist.
Yeah.
That is true.
Yes.
Okay.
And, um, how did Craigslist start?
Like just, I know that's a basic question, but it's, you don't even think about
it as a regular
human.
We don't even know that you're a real, we just, you don't even know.
Yeah.
And I, uh, occasionally tell people that Craig is fake, like, uh, Betty Crocker.
My deal is that I moved to San Francisco, uh, mid, uh, well, mid 93.
Okay.
And I saw there were a lot of people helping each other out on the net, uh,
sometimes doing
so giving away expensive consulting time.
And I took advantage of that.
People helped me settle in, told me about neighborhoods and restaurants and, uh,
events that I might
get interested in.
So you were communicating on the, on the internet, just with people looking for
information about
being, living in a new area.
Yeah.
A lot of this was from the well and early virtual community.
Some from usenet news groups, which were the first big deal discussion boards.
And there is a spirit that we were all going to use the net to help each other
out.
So I thought I should give back started a simple, uh, CC list, um, telling
people about what
I thought were cool events, usually, uh, arts and technology like Joe's digital
diner or
the, uh, non salon, which was a, uh, party fundraiser for a local theater,
highly entangled
with the very earliest burning man.
Oh, and I, I never got involved with that because I realized that I'm not a
burner at
heart.
Yeah.
But, uh, this mailing list, it started growing via word of mouth.
Uh, and I started asking for more stuff than just events.
Like if people wanted to sell something, if people had a job or an apartment.
So that's how it started.
So you started just emailing people just with information about things to do in
the area.
It started to grow and it was just an actual list of people you were sending a
message to.
Yeah.
It was literally an email CC list and that broke at 240 addresses.
I had to, uh, use a listserv.
I had to give the thing a name.
I was, I'm very literal as a nerd.
I wanted to call it San Francisco events since it was still mostly that.
Yeah.
I, yeah, I don't have much of an imagination.
Well, but then I, uh, I was going to call it as if events people around me told
me they
had given it a name, uh, Craigslist.
Ah, they told me I had accidentally created a brand.
Then they explained to me what a brand is b