Replyboard, New Craigslist Profiling Service, Demonstrates Dangers of No User Transparency [Video]

Zach Davis Mar 26, 2012 Tweet

With Facebook having more than two and half times as many active users as there are people in the United States, there’s little reason for user anonymity these days, especially when it involves face-to-face interaction.

Earlier this year we covered Uniiverse, an online marketplace for unique skills and services, which was built off of the similar premise: you would never go to Craigslist to find a baby sitter.  Uniiverse, however, made a point not to compete with Craigslists’ bread and butter – every day transactions such as musical instruments and event tickets. Thus we are still left accepting the inherent risk of meeting a stranger in a parking lot.  Most of the time, it works out, sometimes however, it doesn’t.

Enter Replyboard, a new user profiling service aiming to take the transparency out of Craigslist interactions.  Although the service isn’t officially affiliated with Craigslist, and thus lacks any seamless integration, this is a good first step in attempting to remove the dangers that have put Craigslist in the news for all the wrong reasons over the last few years.

In an attempt to drum up some buzz around their new network, Replyboard has created a series of comical videos demonstrating the risks surrounding Craigslist transactions.  Below are my two personal favorites.  You can check out their blog to watch the rest.