Not long after 9-11 the Pentagon started issuing broad appeals to researchers, scientists and the public at large for ideas to defeat terrorism. The effort has continued with regular broad agency announcements -- sometimes for ideas in specific capabilities and sometimes just for any ideas they may be kicking around.
The Pentagon is now asking Craigslist founder Craig Newmark for tips in fighting terrorism, Newmark told Jon Stewart during a Feb. 26 interview on Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Craigslist is a mostly free online network for classified advertisements in 450 cities worldwide.
Here's an excerpt of their conversation:
Stewart: I've heard the Pentagon wants to talk to you, actually, wants to talk about these decentralized sites because they feel like it will give them insights into al Qaeda.Newmark: they're giving us a little too much credit. The deal is that organizations which spread out power among lots of different people they're more resilient. They're more robust. Like if you cut off the head of a centralized organization, they're dead. But if the organization is a network and has a lot of heads, you can't kill it.
So there you have it. Craigslist: Purveyor of used bicycles and apartments/Pentagon consultant.
--Catherine MacRae Hockmuth
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