Los Webby Awards destacan cada año los proyectos de Internet con mejor diseño, creatividad, usabilidad y funcionalidad. Estos premios fueron creados en 1996 por la International Academy of Arts and Sciences, una organización con sede en Nueva York formada por mas de 600 líderes de la industria web, directivos, visionarios y creativos.

La próxima entrega de los Webby, que tendrá lugar en abril de 2010, quiere rendir un homenaje a la reciente historia de Internet, destacando su papel transformador en la vida ordinaria de millones de personas.

Para este reconocimiento, se ha recopilado una lista con los considerados como 10 eventos más influyentes de Internet en la última década:

• Craiglist, comienza a expandirse fuera de San Francisco (2000), empezando a comerse parte del lucrativo negocio de los anuncios clasificados de los periódicos. Hoy hay listas para más de 500 ciudades en 50 países.
• Google AdWords, es el método que utiliza Google para hacer publicidad patrocinada, cuenta con enormes cantidades de clientes con webs de todo tipo y de todas partes del mundo. Son anuncios que se muestran de forma relevante en los resultados de la búsqueda del usuario
• La Wikipedia abre, que a estas alturas contiene más de 14 millones de artículos en 271 lenguajes distintos, demostrando el poderío que puede tener un proyecto colaborativo en el que la gente crea, basado en una licencia GPL
• El cierre de Napster, el sitio que marcó la popularización del intercambio de archivos y que puso patas arriba la forma en la que obtenemos música y vídeo.
• Google entra en la Bolsa, una de las más exitosas de la historia y que puso a la empresa firmemente en el camino de convertirse en una de las más poderosas y dominantes de la década, sino en la que más.
• La revolución del vídeo streaming (2006) ayudado por la compra de YouTube por parte de Google y la ampliación del ancho de banda.
• La apertura de FaceBook a todo el mundo y la popularización de Twitter, que han cambiado el concepto de las antiguas Redes Sociales.
• La salida del primer iPhone, demostrando que la gente está más que dispuesta a utilizar un teléfono inteligente fácil de usar e inspirando el desarrollo de otras plataformas similares y de aplicaciones para casi cualquier cosa que uno pueda imaginar. Algunos estudios estiman que 1.000 millones de nuevos usuarios de Internet llegaran a esta por primera vez a través de algún
• La campaña presidencial de los Estados Unidos (2008), que demostró el poder de Internet para poner patas arriba la forma en la que se reúnen fondos o se moviliza a los votantes.
• Las protestas por las elecciones en Irán (2009) y la movilización que hizo la oposición para protestar por sus resultados a través de Twitter.

Vía| microsiervos Baquía

Activision y la firma de investigadores privados IPCybercrime.com han logrado identificar a quien pirateó y publicó en redes de intercambio de archivos el juego Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, quien ha sido detenido por la policía.

A través de un anuncio por palabras publicado en el servicio Craiglist alguien vendía antes de tiempo en EE.UU. los packs de la consola Xbox 360 junto al juego, como descubrió Activision al ver un anuncio. Tras esto, contactaron con la citada agencia de detectives, quienes lograron comprar dos packs, comprobando así que estaban vendiéndolo antes de lo acordado. En el proceso, la agencia descubrió otro anuncio en el que un trabajador de almacén de una cadena de tiendas, y según pudo comprobar, ambos estaban conectados a través de redes sociales, y transmitieron esta información a Activision.

Activision mantuvo una reunión con ambos vendedores, quienes admitieron haber obtenido los packs robándolos, lo que se notificó a su empresa (que no ha trascendido). Esto les llevó a uno de los clientes.

Los detectives encontraron un mensaje publicado en una comunidad de piratas de Xbox en el que un usuario pedía donaciones económicas para comprar un pack de la consola con el juego de los anunciados en Craiglist, ripear el juego y distribuirlo por redes de intercambio de archivos. Los investigadores descubrieron que la cuenta de correo electrónico se correspondía con una cuenta en Facebook, a través de la que localizaron al individuo: Christian Del Amo, de 18 años.

La información fue suministrada a la policía de Miami, donde reside. La policía de Miami localizó a un vendedor de copias piratas, así que un agente hizo la compra, y al comprobar el acto delictivo, detuvo al vendedor. Este vendedor fue quien finalmente les llevó a Christian Del Amo, quien fue arrestado y ha sido internado cautelarmente en un correccional, y tenía preparadas para su venta miles de copias de Modern Warfare 2.

No es la primera vez que se le vincula con la piratería, pues ya había vendido discos duros modificados para Xbox 360 con hasta 125 juegos pirateados a través de la web de subastas iOffer.com.

La lista de Craig (Craiglist) es una página donde se vende de todo. Algo así como poner un aviso de ocasión pero más libre. Bueno, pues en Craiglist hay una sección de ligue que tiene la característica de que todos los anuncios comienzan con un “Yo te ví…” y desde el 2000 esta sección ha crecido de manera considerable.

Pues la van a hacer película.

Según el Variety, George Tillman y Bob Teitel de State Street Pictures, han comprado los derechos del libro “I saw You: Comics Inspired by real-life Missed Connections” que fue escrita por Julia Wertz y que trata de las conexiones románticas posteadas en Craiglist.

Tillman será el director y Teitel el productor de esta comedia romántica que se enfoca en la oportunidad de poder cambiar la vida de uno de manera sentimental.

Tillman nos dice que:

“Estoy fascinado con el concepto de que la gente siente de que se perdieron de algo grandioso porque no tuvieron los …. de poder hablarles.”

No han dicho cuando comienza la producción de esta cinta.

La carrellata dei protagonisti del Real Estate Connect di S. Francisco continua con il fondatore di Craiglist, Craig Newmark. Dagli appunti di Gary Stewart, co-fondatore di nuroa.

È evidente che Craig Newmark “thinks different”, e chissà, forse è per questo motivo che ha avuto tanto successo nella sua vita professionale. Nella sua azienda ci sono solo 23 dipendenti però nel 2009 fatturerá più di 100.000.000 di dollari, una crescita del 23% rispetto al 2008, nonostante il settore degli annunci online sia sceso del 29% nel 2008.

 Gary Stewart dice di lui: “Ho conosciuto molta gente eccentrica nella mia vita, però lui potrebbe competere per essere il primo della lista. Riflettendoci a posteriori ti rendi conto che ogni suo commento è almeno un po’ insolito”.

Dice cose del tipo: “Mi piace la natura, specialmente quando si trasforma in qualcosa di conveniente per me”, oppure “Lo scoiattolo comune è davvero molto zen e cristallizza tutto per la tua vera essenza”

Detto questo Craig è una persona veramente umile, con una visione idealista del suo ruolo e del mondo che lo circonda. Una visione riflessa in Craigslist, che lui descrive come “una piattaforma semplice a tua disposizione” con più di 50 milioni di visitatori/mese e più di 20.000 milioni di pagine viste/mese.

Newmark pensa che come specie abbiamo solo due opzioni: collaborare o morire. E lui preferisce collaborare. Tale approccio anima Craiglist, con un attezione quasi ossessiva per il cliente e un grande spirito di servizio.

L’ultimo progetto di Craig è recovery.gov, nato con l’obiettivo di utilizzare la tecnologia per rendere più trasparente la gestione della macchina pubblica statunitense.

“This website allows American taxpayers to see what entities received Recovery money,
and how and where the money is being spent. These questions are answered through easy-to-understand, user-friendly graphs, charts, and maps”.

Craig sostiene che partecipa a questo progetto perchè dopo 8 anni di George W. Bush come presidente c’è molto da sistemare a Washington DC.

La cosa interessante, tanto di  Alfred Lin (leggi post precedente) che di Creig Newman è che per loro le loro aziende sono molto di più che un modo per far soldi. Entrambi sono degli idealisti e le loro aziende sono un modo per trasmettere la loro visione del mondo.

Di seguito un video di Craig che parla di giornalismo e democrazia.

Over 18 ?

Physically fit?

Mentally Sound?

Not afraid of heights?

A desire to travel – to see new places?

If the answer to all these questions is ‘yes’ then you may be interested in an ad in Craiglist seeking an astronaut to travel to Titan.

Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room to carry sufficient fuel for the return trip so the position would ideally suit someone with a terminal illness.

The ad was placed by a gentleman who has been working on this project for 40 years, Drawing on his experience working for the Ministry of Defence in advanced aeronautics he has built a secret space ship which uses a revolutionary propulsion system

For more details of the position, including salary on offer . . . Click Here !

Postage/Labels
Are you a new eBay seller? eBay can help you! You need to know exactly how much a package weighs so you can calculate the postage.
All you really need is a scale that can weigh accurately up to 35 pounds. Anything heavier, you can get by with your bathroom scale.
Print out postage online right from your computer. Even if you do not have a label maker, you can print the information directly onto a plain piece of paper from any printer and tape the paper to your package.
The USPS website has a free postage/label printing software called Click-N-Ship. Unfortunately, the shipping classes are limited to Express Mail, Priority Mail and International Mail. The postage amount can’t be hidden, so the buyer will see the exact amount of postage paid.
If the buyer pays using PayPal, you can use PayPal’s integrated shipping tool. When you go to print the label, the buyer’s shipping address is automatically added to the label along with the weight and insurance if applicable. This saves you the trouble of entering the information yourself. Once the label is printed, you can print a packing slip with all information. The postage amount can be hidden on the label. You can print both USPS and UPS labels using PayPal.

http://www.thegooglekid.com

These guides are not for professional sellers. They are simple, quick & easy start up guides to point a new comer in the right direction.

“eBay users traded $52 billion worth of merchandise last year. While some folks are content to make a few bucks cleaning out their closets, nearly one million people depend on the auction web site for all or part of their income.” -Unknown

I can help you with starting a small home business on eBay. I am not a power seller and I do not make a living on eBay. It is just another income source for me. I can help you get started and point you in the right direction to becoming one of the greatest eBay’ers in the world! Or just make a little money on the side.

What to sell on eBay? I listed my truck on motors.eBay! Find out what you can sell! eBay has a section for this, they explain it far better than I will. Here is the link.
http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatwouldyousell/what_to_sell_house.html

http://thegooglekid.com

(Also known as Craiglist, craig’s, CL.)

Not quite as technical as eBay. First off, only ever deal in person in public places.
-I list items that either friends or myself would like to sell or business persons I know.
Items such as water heaters, restaurant items, doors, computer equipment, software, services, cellphones and other electronics. The possibilities are almost endless.
I just set up a time and a place at a known location. Tell a friend before I go. Then I meet the person and have always had a pleasant transaction. I even deliver for a fee. If the item requires installation I also offer this for a fee as well.
I do recommend calling and emailing multiple times to make sure details are very clear, that way time is not wasted. Most people drive long distances and don’t want to come for no reason.
Go create an account and list your item. It’s FREE and you got nothing to lose.
motors.ebay,ebay can,new ebay,craigslists org,craig’s,cgi.ebay,craiglist

http://www.thegooglekid.com

I originally posted this on my site but I decided to add it to Lili Lately.

All written by me. I did learn a few ideas from my dad.

1.) Use Google Adsense

This is a really easy way to make money in your sleep. All you have to do is register for an account and add Ads to your site. You make money per click. Currently all my sites are ad-free for you happiness. If your site is WordPress, they don’t allow Adsense.

2.) Create an Apple Application

Apple encourages you to create an application to make money for you. All you have to do is design and application such as a game or business use. If your application is very brilliant or useful you can make millions of dollars although aplle gets 30 cents out of every dollar.

3.) Find interests

The more interests you have the more ways to make money. An example you like to sing or are in a band, then you can go to your local recording studio and release on iTunes (may be a long process.

4.) Sell old items on Craigslist

Craigslist is the best because it is free to list items and lots of people use craigslist. We actually made $2,000 over old exercise equipment that cost $5,000 it is a good deal to shop on craiglist too!

5.) Work a part time job

Apply for a job at a restaurant you can make up to $100 an hour waiting tables every other night.

6.) Project Payday

This is great for college students to make up to $5,000 a month!

7.) Trial Juries

You can become an online jury it is supposed to be very easy.

8.) E-bay Enrichment Writer

Look on ebay for expensive items (like a boat) with really bad descriptions. Email the person who owns the item offer to change the description with enriched vocabulary and explain EXTRA well for a better chance of being bought. Offer this for 2% of the money selling for.

8.) Take online surveys

Sometimes online surveys will pay you $5-50 for just taking the survey try typing in “money making online surveys” in Google.

9.) Recycle

My example is my dad drinks A LOT of water and so does our family. We go through a ton of water bottles. I take the bottles in to my local recycle center and they pay me 10 cents per bottle. If you collect bottles you can make $20-100 a week. Offer to collect all your neighbors recycling for NO FEE. But you make money anyway!

10.) Become a moving Advertisement

A lot of companies will do anything to get their name out there. You can offer a small business a small fee of 5-20 thousand dollars to  have their name on your car. As you drive around their name is advertised and you both make money. Although don’t drive on major freeways if you whole car is distracting.

This page covers the latest, hot scams which is still going its round. While we try our best to update this page, it is important to note that the scam you just encountered are not included here yet. Please let us know.

NEW HOT SCAMS
eGreeting or eCard Scams (Phishing, Link to Malware/Virus)
Virus or Malware Alert and Patch Scams (Phishing, Link to Malware/Virus)
PDF Attachment Scams (Phishing, Malware/Virus on file)
Restoring Account Access (Phishing)

EVER HOT SCAMS
Inheritance Scams (many variations of 419 Scams)
Fake Check Scams
Time Sharing Scams
Domain Name Scams
Lottery Scams (many variations of 419 Scams)
Job and Employment Scams (many variations of 419 Scams)
Love Scams (many variations of 419 Scams and more…)
Moving Scams (localized, US)
Real Estate Scams (localized, some countries)

EVERGREEN HOT SPAM SCAM
VIAGRA
OEM SOFTWARE (Warning: Piracy, Virus, Malware!)
ATTACHMENTS (e.g. pictures, word documents, etc)
REPLICA

BBB – Top 10 Scams 2009

Someone submitted this to us:
By Thomas McAdam
Louisville’s Better Business Bureau, ever on the alert for consumer fraud, has listed its “Hot Topics” list of the top 10 scams affecting Louisville area residents.

Cash4Gold has a D rating with the BBB. Consumers complain that the company is not offering a fair value for their jewelry, and that they’ve had a hard time getting their materials returned. Cash4Gold’s policy is that if you don’t like the offer you’re given, you have to ask for your stuff back within 10 days.

Debtor Solution provides debt negotiation and consulting services. The company is displaying the BBB logo and using the BBB name on its website without permission. BBB feels that this may constitute false and deceptive advertising and may violate state or federal statutes due to its falsely implying BBB membership or affiliation. The company had a California address and an F rating with that BBB. The company has since changed to a Louisville, KY address.

Bailout Scam – This “low interest credit card offer” uses the government “bailout” to trick consumers. In the scheme, the consumer receives an automated call from Rose at the United States Better Business Bureau. The United States Better Business Bureau does not exist. The consumer is told President Obama signed a “credit card release” bill that allows the USBBB to cut the consumer’s credit card debt in half. The representative asks for the consumer’s personal information, including their credit card numbers.

Affordable Limo out of Louisville, KY has an F rating with the BBB. Consumers complain they are not getting what they paid for. Some say they paid for four hours up front, and they only received service for two hours, and others allege they were left stranded with no way to get home. Before you hire a company, check them out first with the BBB at http://louisville.bbb.org/.

Mortgage Rescue Plan Scam – Spam email encouraging vulnerable consumers to contact unscrupulous would-be lenders through toll-free numbers have been making their rounds since President Obama announced this plan that aims to help some honeowners avoid foreclosure. Delete these emails! If you’re looking to refinance your mortgage, talk to local banks and mortgage companies. Don’t fall for an “800-number trap.”

Puppy Scam – A scammer poses as a breeder and places an ad for inexpensive or free puppies in the newspaper. Communicating only through emails, the scammer may claim that he is affiliated with a religious organization and is being relocated to a foreign country and needs to find a home for the puppies. He asks the buyer to wire money for shipping. The offer is a fake, the buyer is out the money, and never receives the puppy.

Rerun Media does business as DVDPawn.com and GamePawn.com. The websites operate like online pawnshops where consumers can sell their used DVDs and video games. Potential sellers register an account and submit their list of game and movie titles for a quote. They then have 20 days to ship their items to the company. Consumers say they’re not getting paid what they are promised, or not getting paid at all. The company has an F rating with the BBB.

Craigslist Scam – Be careful selling items on Craigslist. While the website is legitimate, scammers take advantage of sellers by sending a check for the item, for more than the seller is asking. The scammer asks the seller to wire the remaining money back. Days later, the bank calls saying the check was fake, and the seller owes the bank the money. Don’t EVER wire money to someone you don’t know and trust!

Economic Stimulus Bill Scam - Scammers are rushing in to take advantage of the stimulus package. Don’t fall for an offer that offers “free money” from the government to help pay bills. It doesn’t work like this. The federal spending under the new bill will mostly enter the economy through state and local government spending and through existing government programs that require an application process. Organizations don’t usually give out grants for debt consolidation, or to pay for other personal needs.

Spring Break Travel Scams – High school and college students seem to be attractive targets for dishonest travel operators. Be wary of offers that promise “the moon” for a very low price, or ones that require immediate purchase to lock in the announced rate. Before paying anything, request all details of the trip in writing, including total cost, restrictions where applicable, cancellation penalties, and exact names of the airlines and hotels included in the packet. For more tips, go to http://louisville.bbb.org/.

Lun, la página chilena que difunde noticias de una forma peculiar, muy al estilo de Craigslist

Con esto me refiero a que no tiene ni un pisca de usabilidad ni un diseño presentable.
Archivos dispersos y mal ubicados. Una estructura que requiere de un entrenamiento arduo del scroll y paciencia para que carge las páginas.

Teniendo todo esto en contra. ¿Como puede funcionar? El secreto se encuentra en la página del Fracontirador

Un Extracto aquí (vía Sicrono)

“Trabajamos sin editor digital, sin webmaster y sin periodistas dedicados a la web. Todo nuestro sitio está automatizado”.

- “¿Qué deberíamos hacer con los motores de búsqueda que toman nuestros contenidos y los usan como producto? Nosotros somos invisibles a Google News. Nuestro contenido es invisible para los motores de búsqueda. En LUN.com los usuarios leen texto sobre una imagen. Esta es una decisión consciente que tomamos en diciembre de 2005″.

- “Todos los avisos a media página o mayores de la versión impresa pueden incluir un spot en video dentro de LUN.com sin costo adicional (por el momento)”.

- “Se puede lograr tráfico significativo pese a no tener notas de última hora. Somos el 10º sitio chileno según Alexa.com”.

- “Apenas un pequeño porcentaje de nuestras visitas llegan mediante motores de búsqueda (15.5% busca “LUN” en Google)”.

]]> http://thejuiceboxx.com/2009/09/24/which-hip-hop-artist-needs-a-nanny/ Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:19:38 +0000 lipstickpunch http://thejuiceboxx.com/2009/09/24/which-hip-hop-artist-needs-a-nanny/

Madonna's daughter Mercy and her Nanny

So I’m perusing Craiglist.org for a Russian Blue kitten for my daughter and in the Community section/Manhattan I see this:

Hip Hop Artist Searching for Fabulous Nanny (Greenwich Village)

PostingID: 1390294827

________________________________________________________________________________

Hhmmm, Wonder who this could be. I have a few ideas, who do you think it could be?

—- Stay Juicy!

I’m having a really hard time organizing my tasks and projects right now…I think I’m feeling overwhelmed with all I have to do.  I’m directing Prelude to a Kiss and have a long lists of things I need to do NOW to get ready to open in early November…blocking, lighting, sound, costumes, set…so much to decide and in such a tizzy about it.  I spend so much time worrying about all I have to do, I could probably just do it in half the time.  Sigh…

We miss our little cat, Puck, a lot.  But we think her sister misses her even more.  Since her obvious sadness the first week or two, the outward signs have disappeared.  But hus was playing with Phoebe the other day and we realized that we hadn’t seen her play like that since Puck disappeared.  So, for all of us, we are thinking of adopting another kitty…we can’t do anything until we get back from vacation next week, but that hasn’t stopped me from frequenting craigslist and kijiji.com, looking at kitties…so many out there without homes, so so sad.

As MSNBC’s Way Too Early with Willie Geist was finishing up this morning, the camera turned to a side shot of Mika Brzezinski getting her makeup and hair polished off by a little cloud of assistants before Morning Joe started.  Wouldn’t it be heavenly to wake up each morning, get ready to go and pass through a little cloud of assistants buffing your makeup and making sure your hair looks good as you head off to work and life?  I would be ready for my close-up all the time!<G>

I love roses.  I try to grow them.  I plant a bunch, some die, but some live…I plant more, the cycle continues.  I now have five thriving bushes.  My son planted two beautiful red rose bushes in front of the compost bin and they have thrived.  So, last weekend we took advantage of a rose bush sale (50% off!) and bought one more red rose to add to the compost bin bed and a couple of candy-striped bushes to add to the main bed.  All well and good, but they all came equipped with the most ferocious thorns I have ever seen…thick and numerous.  As a consequence, I am covered in thorn wounds…my arms look as if I did battle with a tiger!<G>  It will be worth it in the long run, but ow!

Had to laugh…I went in yesterday to get my hair cut and, in the course of the obligatory chatter, mentioned that I had mentioned in my blog that I was looking for input on a new hairstyle to help raise me out of my slump.  She laughed and then told everyone that I blog.  Salon One, in Wellesley, MA, new on Linden Street…I saw Diana and she was wonderful.  It is a splurge…nothing cheap about the place.  I did get a 25% discount as a first-time customer, but even with that, the final bill was considerably more than I normally pay.  However, I walked away feeling like a million dollars, so I guess it is worth the splurge on occasion.

is all about saying what you are looking for. That is what I realized when I decided to try Craiglist again. So I wrote a more specific post (but it came off sounding slightly robotic) about what I wanted. Age range (20’s-30’s), ethnicity (South Asian/Arab), I am not looking for sex, need a picture before I would be willing to meet, as well as some general info about myself.

I also decided that where I live isn’t good enough (and probably doesn’t have a large population of the ethnicity that I am seeking) so I put it up in NYC (which is close enough to drive to on the weekends but not so close that I would have to worry about seeing someone all the time).

And I got flooded with e-mails again. The reading comprehension here was fairly high, I got very few white guys thinking I would be interested in them. I didn’t get any pics of dicks.

I got one racist response fairly soon after I put up the ad. The e-mail convo went (exactly, I still have the e-mail) like this:

Rob: your gross! arab men

me: Maybe you’ve never been with an arab. Maybe you’ve never seen how silly, sweet, kind and giving they can be. Racism is stoooopid!

Rob: bunch of sand niggers!

me: They’re so cute though!

For some reason (maybe I’m naive) I wasn’t expecting anything of the sort to take place. It didn’t occur to me that people would care who I choose to date. I still don’t understand it.

So I started whittling this group down so that only a few were left. Obviously the ugly guys are the first to go. I did get some older guys (late 30’s-50’s) but that number was fairly low and easily eliminated. A few were married and seemed to be looking for sexual fulfillment, which I was not about to give them. Some sent initial e-mails that were far too sexually charged. (I know that the ultimate goal of men is sex, but I don’t need that to be the first thing out of your “mouth”.) A few had the balls to insult me but tell me that I had potential. One of these guys was over 50. (Go find someone that isn’t young enough to be your daughter.) One didn’t like my clothes. (Well, let me go out and buy a new wardrobe to please you, Mr. Internet Stranger.) One said I wear too much makeup. (God knows, mascara and eye shadow is definitely too much. Shame on me.) Why bother responding if all you are going to do is be critical of someone? Makes no sense to me.

So I started chatting and e-mailing with a couple of guys. But they were too far away to visit until the weekend. So I did something logical-put a local Craiglist ad in too. I wanted options to fall back on.

This has been a learning experience through and through. My initial plunge was an epic failure.

I believe that people responding to Craiglist ads tend to think that the poster of the ad (in this case, me) is desperate and will settle for anything. That, however, is not the case here. I would rather be alone for the rest of my life masturbating to porn than meet 99% of the guys that responded to my ad.

Part of it was their fault for thinking me desperate. Part of it was mine for not specifying what I was actually looking for.

In real life, these guys never would have approached me and they know it. A guy in his 40’s is generally not going to hit on a girl in her 20’s. So how does doing it from behind a computer screen make them think that I would actually be interested? Why do they bother wasting their time? There were also guys that weren’t old, they were just plain unattractive. They must, MUST realize that by this point in their lives. (I’ve been doing this for about a month now and have never bothered to message someone who I consider out of my league.)

And, as I said, I didn’t specify what I was looking for. My ad was very general even though I had something specific in mind. I had decided that I didn’t want to eliminate people for no reason (until after I saw the responses anyway) and that I would rather be open and inclusive. The only disqualifier I had was that I was not looking for sex (because, quite frankly, at that time I couldn’t imagine someone touching me at all).

So I had to start eliminating responses somehow. I started 2 folders in my e-mail-maybe and no. 90% went into the “no” folder based on age/looks alone. Some were thrown into “no” because they were looking for only sex or had sent me pictures of their cocks instead of their faces. Oddly enough, some of the cock pictures were not impressive at all. I would think, with regards to the general female population, that bigger is usually considered better. So sending a girl a picture of your four inch hot dog is not going to make a good first impression.

So I started looking for reasons to eliminate the remaining guys. Any reason would do really. Have kids? Dogs? Not interested. Too educated? No car? Have roommates? Really, I was just scanning their messages looking for something that I didn’t like. And I found something on every message. Except one.

My initial foray into online dating began with Craiglist. I had been checking out the “Men for Women” section whenever I thought about it, but not very many people were putting up pictures. I am not going to waste my time writing e-mails to people when I don’t even know what they look like. So I decided that I should just throw up my own ad.

I felt so sleazy putting an ad on Craiglist. There is such a negative association to Craiglist personal ads that I felt like a huge loser posting there. But it was so easy, no joining and no cost. A few clicks, type a couple of words, throw in a picture and done. Then watch the replies flood my e-mail.

I went to work the next day terrified.

I woke up convinced that someone must have seen my ad. Someone that I know. I resisted the urge to take it down and figured I would deal with being found out if I had to. I was envisioning my ad printed out and hung up all over my place of employment. I looked at everyone I walked by trying to figure out if anyone was looking at me differently. No one seemed to be so I started relaxing a little.

I tried to reason with myself. Even if someone did see my ad, they were obviously looking too so they would be no better than me. But it didn’t really help. They could claim that they were looking at it to laugh at all the idiots posting there when they found me.

So far, so good. I haven’t been found out. Now I just have to wade through 100’s of e-mails trying to find something agreeable to me. Not as easy as it sounds.

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for checking out the new site and following us over. Ridiculous Job Posts is doing well and we owe it all to dedicated, fans like you. Crazy Room Ads is a humor blog dedicated to poking fun at crazy roommate ads from around the world. If you see an ad we should put up email it to us. If you have a crazy roommate story email it to us. (CrazyRoomads@gmail.com )You know what they say “The truth is stranger than fiction.”

We can’t wait to read your comments!

The Team!