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Top 100: 81. Craigslist

March 4, 2011

Like many an Internet phenomenon. Craigslist started small, based on a simple, localized idea that blossomed into something global. Started in 1995 by Craig Newmark with the modest goal of helping people find affordable housing in San Francisco, it’s now the most popular online classifieds website in the world, with more than 10 million monthly visitors. In September, Craigslist capitulated in a legal fight over erotic ads posted on the site by shutting down its adult services section and replacing it with a black bar that simply said “censored.” The move came after a group of state attorneys general charged that Craigslist did not adequately block potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution. Adult ads previously accounted for some 30 percent of Craigslist’s annual revenue, estimated to reach $122 million in 2010.

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