Can Craigslist survive a challenge from Microsoft Expo?

[mandy]

The software behemoth late last month started Windows Live Expo (expo.live.com), another node in its growing network of Internet services, and a direct stab at Craiglist's vital organs: free, local classified ads.

In doing so, Microsoft is treading on ground that has swallowed many other companies, and one that Google has also recently begun to explore. But Microsoft is taking a more comprehensive approach than others, using its instant messaging, mapping and blogging services to help people sell items among groups of local friends and acquaintances.

Craigslist has no such weapons in its arsenal, but it is expanding quickly from its San Francisco base into new markets, making it harder for competitors to generate enough classified listings to attract an audience. Whether it is establishing a defensible position quickly enough, though, is an open question...

full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/techno...0ecom.html

related topic:
Microsoft Testing Its Own 'Google Base' Classifieds Marketplace
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