Students Develop Harvard Craigslist

Searching for a lightly-used futon or selling your dog-eared Gov. 20 coursepack will soon become a bit easier with the upcoming official launch of Crimsonlist, Harvard’s version of the online classifieds Web site Craigslist.

The Web site—which enables students to coordinate campus-wide purchases and sales of items ranging from textbooks to refrigerators—was created by Sasank Konda ’12 and Kane Hsieh ’12 as their final project for Computer Science 50. The site will be launched on The Harvard Crimson’s Web site by the beginning of shopping period.

As part of their campaign to lead the Undergraduate Council, President Johnny F. Bowman ’11 and Vice President Eric N. Hysen ’11 proposed the development of a Web site akin to Craigslist for Harvard students. Hysen said that the pair had originally considered building their own site, but after learning about Konda and Hsieh’s creation, the UC leaders decided they did not want to “mis-replicate something that was already being done well.”

In early December, Hysen and Bowman approached Konda and Hsieh—who serve as Crimson Contract Printing Manager and Associate Photography Editor, respectively—about collaborating to publicize the site.

“From the UC’s end, we want to continue to promote the site to the entire campus and make sure that all 6,600 students know about it and can use it,” Hysen said.

Bowman said he believes that hosting Crimsonlist on The Crimson’s Web site will guarantee that the online tool receives all the necessary resources and public leverage to ensure long-term success. The lack of publicity is typically the highest hurdle that student-run Web sites face in developing a lasting presence on campus, Bowman said.

Konda said that the development of a Harvard version of Craigslist has been attempted several times before, but preceding versions ultimately fizzled out because they were either difficult to navigate or lacking in visual appeal.

“You wouldn’t think that the aesthetic is that terribly important, but if a site doesn’t look legit, then you don’t want to use it,” Konda said.

—Staff writer Janie M. Tankard can be reached at jtankard@fas.harvard.edu.