Craigslist Guru: Build Brand 'You'!

HIS LIST Newmark

Just when you thought journalism was going down the tubes, along comes Craig Newmark with a plunger to make sure it goes down smoothly.

The Craigslist founder and Web guru spoke to an undergraduate journalism class at New York University earlier this week, offering advice sure to bring tears to those who believe young writers ought to purge the words "I" and "me" from their vocabularies.

"Do what you can on the Net to build up some kind of online reputation," Newmark counseled. "Who knows? ... You may want to start working on your own personal brand. Maybe start a blog and see if people will pay attention. You may be your own network."

Newmark forgot to mention that, for 22-year-olds seeking to parlay a razor-thin résumé into instant Web fame, it helps to be stacked.

Photo: Getty Images