Cyrillic Partners

A group of journalists/tech consultants has set up a site soliciting ideas to save the classified advertisement section that used to be a mainstay of print revenue.

This idea seems DOA to my mind though. Why would anyone with a good idea actually throw it away by sharing it? So far, the “experts” have come up with ideas insufficient to resurrect a decade-dead advertising medium. It all feels very “well sonny, back in my day…”

It’s a well meaning effort though, with some interesting tidbits on the design and evolution of classifieds, but it’s like trying to bandage a wounded leg just as newspapers are going into cardiac arrest.

Wikipedia offers some interesting stats on the business of classifieds:

In 2003, the market for classified ads in the United States was $15.9 billion (newspapers), $14.1 billion (online) according to market researcher Classified Intelligence. The worldwide market for classified ads in 2003 was estimated at over $100 billion. Perhaps due to a lack of reporting solidarity Market Statistics vary concerning the total market for internet classified ads. The Kelsey Research Group lists online classified ads as being worth $13.3 billion, while Jupiter Research provides a conservative appraisal of $2.6 billion (2005) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau lists the net worth of online classified revenue at $2.1 billion (April 2006).

Newspapers have continued their downward trend in classifieds revenue as internet classifieds grow. Classified advertising at some of the larger newspaper chains has dropped 14% to 20% in 2007 while traffic to classified sites has grown 23%.

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