Brian Pan

marco:

By eliminating marketing, sales, and business development, craigslist’s programmers have cut out all the cushioning layers that separate them from the users they serve, and any right they have to teach lessons in public service comes from the odd situation of running a company that is directly subservient only to the public. Here’s the lesson: The public is a motherfucker.

I loved this. The headline is misleading: it’s favorable to Craigslist and their style of management.

It looks like a “mess” by modern web-trend standards, but it works. It’s run by a very small staff of just 30 people, serving 47 million unique visitors and making an estimated $100 million per year.

The web-business world has a lot to learn from Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster.

My wife yesterday: “Does Craig make any money off his list?”

(via)

I’m definitely a “big picture” person. I love this very interesting step back to look at trends and stories so far from this decade.

Don’t miss the 5 min video in the middle. Very eye opening. (via Kottke)

mrgan:

I’m one of the lucky, asymptomatic Wilson’s patients, and stories like this frighten the hell out of me; they have a pretty goddamn huge factor of “there but for the grace of fate go I.”

If you’d like to know more, the Wilson Disease Association is a good place to start reading. Donations are great, but it’s also good to just spread awareness of rare diseases, especially when they’re difficult to diagnose before it’s too late. Of course, because it’s rare, you shouldn’t run out and get screened for Wilson’s. Instead, just keep in mind that it’s not a bad idea to visit to your doctor regularly (within reason), whether you’re feeling sick or not. I was diagnosed after going in for a totally boring check-up.

Visit your optometrist too!  And get your eyes dilated while you’re at it.

The very doable recipe for dethroning the iPhone.