Role Model

There's not a whole lot of people that I would call role models for me. It'd tough finding people to look up to when you are as awesome as me, but I've found a few. I'd like to give a shoutout to the most admirable person I don't know personally, Craig Newmark. You may have heard of his little website, craigslist. Craig, despite being fabulously wealthy and powerful, still does customer service work at craigslist. He's made craigslist itself into an efficiently run, incredibly helpful organization that refuses to cave in to corporate bullying (from Ebay, as of late). And, of course, for the vast majority of users, it is free.

For me, Craig represents someone that "gets" the internets. The internet is about connecting people. Despite numerous attempts to get him to sell out and heavily commercialize craigslist, he has resisted because it's more important to him to provide that service to people than to make an extra oodle of money. My perception of Craig is that of an incorruptable demigod, fighting against the overcommercialization and greed that threatens to poison the internet. Sort of like Xerces, if Sparta was a bunch of ISPs and Athens was a collection of ignorant politicians.

He also takes principled stands in his political dealings. He often uses his blog to bring attention to efforts to increase visibility in legislature and to speak out in favor of net neutrality. He understands the raw power of the information age, and the sweeping benefits it can have for everyone. More importantly, he fights for the legislation necessary to preserve the potency of the internet.

So take a look at craig's blog and read up on some of his articles, especially on net neutrality. That's a guy who really knows where his towel is.