Craigslist Joe

I will tell you what, Netflix is such a great tool. Recently, I came upon a few gems because of it. Craigslist Joe, in one word, is inspiring. This documentary illustrates how Joe Gardner relied solely on Craigslist for a month.

As most may know, the site offers free advertising space to buy, sell, giveaway, etc., just about anything you can think of. I actually got my first job out of college off of a job posting on Craigslist. Each ad is broken up into category and location.

Joe uses the site to find meals, shelter, entertainment, transportation, exercise, and friendship. 

The things we see in the media these days makes me wonder, but Joe's documentary made me feel like there is still good, even great... among the evil. He restored my views on humanity as a whole. Not that my views were entirely bad to begin with, of course.

It was amazing how people were opening up their homes to a complete stranger. I think it helped that he had a camera man with him, but still. I couldn't believe all of the stuff that people post on Craigslist either. Joe was able to road trip across the United States and BACK by finding people who just wanted companionship on a long drive. He was able to seek out free meal postings or "work for food" ads. He even tried a free breakdancing class in Chicago. Got a free haircut. Helped out at a homeless kitchen. Etc., etc.

 For all you PR majors out there, if you are having some type of fundraiser (I know because we did a lot of these at UNI), throw an ad up on Craigslist because it will be seen by someone. Who knows what could happen. It obviously won't be your main strategy, but it could draw in a few people that wouldn't have heard of it otherwise. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, as we all know.

One man that he encountered was of Iraqi descent. He recalled growing up in poverty and experiencing starvation, but stood proud of his family's perseverance in accomplishing their American Dream. This family opened their arms up to Joe when he needed a place to stay for the night. I was left with an interesting thought after this leg of Joe's journey. This Iraqi man and his family receive negative comments because of 9/11. "Go back to where you came from." The thing is, they weren't part of it and if they were to go back to Iraq, they would be told the same thing. Why? Because they are Americans. Most importantly, they are people. We are all humans and need to help each other out every once in a while.

Always remember that the little things, the little acts of kindness go a long way. Craigslist Joe was a great example of how even in a time of economic hardship, kindness and helping out go a long way. Worth an hour or so of your time.