Here's a puzzle for my web-savvy friends. (For the record: To many, *I* am the web-savvy friend, but this one's over my head.) Every day I check in at CraigsList for their Boston writing/editing leads; the URL is:
http://boston.craigslist.org/wri/
You know, I'm just looking for interesting editorial gigs. I also check in daily with NYC's parallel site:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/wri/
Because, well, New York has lotsa publishing going on. Then, every once in a while, I explore the "writing/editing" section of the CraigsList portal for other major cities: Austin, San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, Portland, etc., as well as other New England states so small they don't get their own city listings. All have the same URL format:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/wri/
http://seattle.craigslist.org/wri/
http://nh.craigslist.org/wri/
You get the idea: It's "location".craigslist.org/wri/ for every locale on the map.
So, here's my question: Is there a way I can minimize my clicking? Can I search for all CraigsList job postings in the writing/editing sector with some magical, universal command? Since editorial work is often freelance and can therefore be done from home, I don't care where it originates. And I'm convinced that my next big cookbook gig is just around the corner—even if that corner is in Raleigh, Sacramento, or Phoenix.
I keep an eye on several Craiglist subjects through RSS feeds. It will be a little time consuming to add them all to your reader (or however you track RSS feeds) - but once you do it, they'll automatically be delivered to you whenever there's an update.
I use Google Reader, and I created a separate folder for Craigslist. If you do that, then they'll all be in one place for you. You'll have to individually add each one you're interested in, but after that it'll be smooth sailing.
Posted by: Deborah | July 31, 2008 at 08:23 PM
I second Deborah's suggestion to subscribe to the feeds for your craigslist searches. I do the same for eBay, as I prefer it to their saved search option.
At the bottom of each craigslist page, there's an RSS button you can use for subscribing to that particular search.
Posted by: califmom | August 01, 2008 at 07:45 PM