Speakers:
Craig Newmark, Founder, craigslist.com;
Roberto Padilla, USC Annenberg Class of 2006
Location: McCarthy Quad (
map)
Craig NewmarkFounder, craigslist.com
Craig is a customer service rep and founder of craigslist.
He's a senior Web-oriented software engineer with around thirty years of experience, including 17 years at IBM. He has learned a lot about online community and customer service by serving as "customer service rep and founder" of
craigslist.org ten years ago. He's compiled extensive experience evangelizing the net, leading and building, including efforts at Bank of America and Charles Schwab.
He's one of those guys you hear about who grew up wearing a plastic pocket protector and thick black glasses, and who expresses his inner nerd via obsessive commitment to customer service to the craigslist community. Someday, he might get a day off.
In 1995, he started craigslist which serves as a non-commercial community service with classifieds and discussion forums. Craigslist focuses on helping people with basic needs, such as finding housing and employment, while establishing a pervasive culture of trust. He brings with him all the glamour of George Costanza.
Craig's also involved with a number of community efforts, particularly mideast peace and new forms of media, involving "participatory journalism" and blogging.
He's been featured in the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Business Week, Time Magazine, and Esquire Magazine.
Roberto PadillaUSC Annenberg Class of 2006
Roberto Padilla feels blessed to have been given the opportunity to be a student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. As one of the first students to graduate from USC Annenberg’s accelerated dual degree program, he will earn both a B.A. in Communication and M.A. in Communication Management.
While at USC Annenberg, Roberto has focused on his interest in children’s media, particularly television animation, which he loved when he was growing up. He worked with the Study of Computer Games group and was a member of the Annenberg Student Communication Association, where he was proud to design the ASCA logo. He is also honored to have been a Norman Topping Scholar while at USC.
Roberto was named one of 18 Luce Scholars selected nationally for the 2006–07 academic year by the Henry Luce Foundation. As a Luce Scholar, he will spend a year in Asia working in children’s media. He is dedicated to pursuing a career that will allow him to improve the children’s media landscape.
Roberto would like to thank his parents, Rosie and Roberto, his brother, Luis, and his aunt, Margaret. He would also like to thank everyone who has been a part of his life these past four years for making Annenberg and USC such a great experience.