Technology

Craiglist founder to address Dublin Web Summit

14.01.2010
The founder of the world’s largest classifieds website, Craiglist, will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Dublin Web Summit in early February.

Craig Newmark (pictured) is founder of Craigslist, which is generally regarded as the website that fundamentally reinvented the classified advertising business model.

The site, which had an estimated turnover of US$100m in 2009, now receives more traffic than either eBay or Amazon, attracting 47 million unique visitors per month.

Matt Mullenwe, the founder of content management system Wordpress which powers over 202 million websites worldwide, will also speak at the event in Trinity College Dublin.

Wordpress will power the Dublin Web Summit website, and is used by CNN, the New York Times and Yahoo. In October 2009, Wordpress.com attracted 151 million unique visitors.

Newmark and Mullenweg, who are regular keynote speakers at the world's largest technology conferences, will be talking about their experiences in scaling their companies, which have had huge impacts on global commerce, the media and communication.

The event will also feature talks by Chris Horn, co-founder and former CEO of Iona Technologies which had the fifth largest IPO in Nasdaq history, and Ben Hammersley, Wired magazine's Editor-at-Large.

A panel of Irish technology entrepreneurs will also participate in a panel discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship in Ireland.

Attendees already registered for the event are a who’s who of the Irish tech scene including Dylan Collins, CEO, Jolt Gaming; Caelen King, CEO, RevaHealth; and Patrick Holohan, CEO, NewBay.

“The Dublin Web Summit is a must see event for anyone in the Irish technology industry or with an interest in how Web 2.0 has fundamentally changed the world of commerce,” said Dublin Web Summit organiser, Paddy Cosgrave.

“People will be able to hear the story of websites like Craigslist which, despite only employing 30 people, attracts more traffic that eBay or Amazon.

The Dublin Web Summit takes place in the Edward Burke Theatre at Trinity College Dublin between 5.30 – 9.30pm and tickets costs €100.

The conference will be followed by a post event networking event, where the 360 present at the Dublin Web Summit will be able to meet fellow attendees, enjoy a drink, and exchange business cards.

Tickets for the event, which takes place on 4 February, are available to purchase from http://dws2.eventbrite.com/ or by calling 01 4429283.

Pictured: Craiglist founder Craig Newmark