Tuesday, June 17, 2008

I became a Craigslist (Charlotte) user back in January. I was looking to sell some furniture and someone suggested I use the site. I had long heard of Craigslist but had never bothered to try it before then. If you've ever used it then you know how easy it is to navigate. So one Saturday in January I listed my furniture complete with photos, and within a few hours I started receiving emails from people who were interested. A week later a young couple was coming to pick up my couch, coffee and end tables, and bar stools. It would've been even sooner, but we had to arrange a convenient time and day for them to come by. So I was pleased with Craigslist and have been visiting it regularly ever since.

A friend of mine bought a new car a couple of months ago and is looking to sell her old one. She said she listed it on Craigslist this morning and by this afternoon someone had contacted her about it and wants to come see it. (Since she's a single female I advised that she have someone home with her when the person comes over.)

Nowadays I visit Craigslist mostly searching the jobs and gigs sections. I've found a few freelance opportunities there. When I was on it today, I decided to allow my eyes to scroll over to another section of the page that I'd never ventured to. I noticed a link called rants and raves. When I clicked on it I was taken to a disclaimer page. That's pretty much an indication that I'm going to be encountering vulgar language. Yep, that's the case.

There are hundreds of posts on the rants and raves page, but so many of them are meaningless and pure hatred, and a lot of them aren't even local (a whole lot of McCain and Obama bashing going on). I don't intend to draw attention to such ignorance, but why do people even bother wasting their time? Even if I had nothing better to do, I wouldn't do that.

I often rant and rave myself about the good and bad of the Internet. The Internet makes my job a heckuva lot easier. And the fact that I'm able to pay all of my bills online is a Godsend. But even when I'm just reading my favorite news or blog sites, I never feel inclined to post negative comments that add absolutely nothing constructive. People hide behind the fact that they're able to post comments anonymously, which makes them brave enough to say whatever they want.

A few days ago, I saw a discussion on one of the cable news shows about how random, irresponsible, and often untrue information posted on a website somehow gets more merit than it deserves. Apparently, Barack Obama had stated to reporters that he finds it disheartening that anyone can post anything about him online without a shred of evidence, but that eventually some reporter will question him about it. That's crazy. Maybe I'll start posting random, untrue facts about myself on various sites. Heck, I'll start now:

Jarvis Holliday was recently selected as Charlotte's most eligible bachelor. Thousands of women call, email, or ride past his house.

Let's see if that catches on.

1 comment :

  1. Lol! You are nuts! Let me know how many dates you get as a result of this "untruth." On a more serious note, I like your style of writing. It's clever, humorous and informative. I can tell you enjoy what you do, and there's nothing like getting paid for doing what you love. Thanks for sharing.

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