Craig Newmark On Obama McCain & Zen

08.13.08 | Category: Power Zen, Simplicity, Zen Government

Craig Newmark speaks candidly about Barack Obama and John McCain, Presidential Zen and the Art of Service.  Watch ValleyZen’s video interview here (or embedded below) shot in San Francisco on location at Craig’s favorite hang.  Craig opens up under California sun-dappled Japanese maples.  Highlights include:

  • Craig as eye candy — It’s tough being the glamorous poster boy for Craigslist!
  • The art of customer service – Craig is the Master.  The word Samurai means to serve.   Craig’s twist on service.
  • Presidential Zen — Barack Obama and John McCain — How do they set their Zen Compass?
  • Web 2.-0bama – Sporting his Obama pin, Craig talks about Obama’s use of the technologies of democracy
  • McCain and Obama online — Craig says, “McCain’s website is a bit like my old joke about myself.”
  • ValleyZen zone — Craig gets in the ValleyZen zone.  Watch out!
  • The 0.1 aesthetic - The Zen spirit of the early web and how to get some!

If you haven’t already, we invite you to subscribe to the ValleyZen RSS feed.
To subscribe by email go to the bottom right hand side of ValleyZen.com, enter your address, press return and follow the steps.

Thank you for your participation in the ValleyZen community! Stay tuned for some great videos coming up!

Permalink

9 Comments so far

  1. Mark Evans 08.13.08 at 10:25 pm

    Lovely low key interview with Craig. I enjoyed his insight on web 0.1 and I think you can still find an abundance of that spirit among engineering teams and start ups. And — I think we’re starting to see it on social networks (portals) like FriendFeed.

    Looking forward to the second installment of Craig’s interview from you and Bill.

    Mark

  2. Drue Kataoka 08.13.08 at 11:47 pm

    @ Mark – Thanks, I agree the spirit of 0.1 can be found in SV.

  3. sandra 08.14.08 at 9:00 pm

    Craigslist–simplicity and expansiveness at it’s best. 0.1 to the max.
    Thank you for presenting Craig

  4. Vlasta Diamant 08.15.08 at 10:28 am

    I think, Craig should have run for a president, but he is too good, too honest and too modest to have a chance, unfortunately.

  5. Drue Kataoka 08.15.08 at 4:37 pm

    @ Sandra and Vlasta – Thanks for tuning in. Craig is modest indeed but full of great Zen-sights.

  6. George 08.15.08 at 11:44 pm

    Craig’s List seems to be one of the most progressive websites around: it’s completely free for most people to use, and only those who can afford it (employers and brokers) pay. That seems quintessentially web 0.1 (by Craig’s definition at least). Its progressive nature is somewhat at odds with the valley’s generally libertarian ethos, but hopefully others can learn from it.

    Its model doesn’t apply to all sites of course, but it would be good to keep in mind whenever possible. Most sites are supposedly “free” for general users, but the advertising which supports their “free” use has real costs for the users: time, attention, bandwidth. “Free” sites harvesting personal information seem the most insidious.

    I appreciate that Valley-zen is an ad-free oasis on the net, and I hope that the owners are able to find some web 0.1-ish way to support it :)

  7. Bill Fenwick 08.18.08 at 4:19 pm

    Craig your statement about developing your moral compass resonates with my, and I’m sure, many million others’ life experiences. Various organizations also aim to assist those who need assistance in building their custom compass. I am suspect of such organizations because the pain of development is a source of great learning.

  8. Costa Casasbuenas 08.19.08 at 1:45 am

    Hi Drue,
    Thanks for bringing Craig to Valley Zen. For me it has been a precious discovery and a real eye-opener. I loved your interview. Not only because of the garden and the flowers, but also because of Craig’s simplicity in linking thought and deep knowing with immediate acting, and also for the way he connects moral compass, inclusion and listening capacity with Obama’s approach to politics. I will stay tuned for part No. 2 to see the relation between latrines and world harmony!
    Un fuerte abrazo,
    Costa

  9. Norman 09.02.08 at 8:33 pm

    My impressions:

    1. I found Craig to be refreshingly & genuinely humble & grounded. In this valley of big egos, this is extremely rare.

    2. Craig apparently has good internal value system as compass, as well as good judgment of big picture(e.g. social/political). He didn’t talk much since this clip rather short, so I had to watch a few times to catch this.

    3. I liked the comment about Web 0.1. If we integrate this idea into our daily lives, that would be the simply living movement.

    4. The background music is kinda cool.

    Thanks Craig & Drue for this interview!

Leave a Comment