Missed Connections - Why?
One of my new favorite things to do is read the “Missed Connections” ads on craigslist. It might be a little sadistic, but I think these are some of the funniest personal ads I’ve ever read. Sometimes they are really amazing and creepy; some are awesomely sexual; and other times they are more like breakup letters than hopeful reconnection stabs.
Who are these people?
I have a lot of trouble reading each of the posts on this forum and thinking about the people posting as anything other than unfortunate-looking, shy, and honestly a little strange. Are you a successful, attractive man or woman posting to Missed Connections? If so, I stand corrected.
But it’s clear that there is a significant group involved with this thing. Whether or not they expect to find their Prince Charming or the brunette girl who used to work at Starbucks (I’ve seen this more than once) is up to speculation. I have to imagine a lot of the posts are more in jest than anything else, basically shots in the dark for some bored, lonely college guy looking to hook up with another bored, lonely college girl.
I’d love to see some empirical data backing up the effectiveness of these postings. Seriously, I know the internet has an uncanny, unmatched ability to connect people across the world; but how many people are reading Missed Connections and thinking ‘hey, I wonder if anyone posted anything about me on here?’ It can’t be too many…can it?
Does anyone know more about these things than I do? I’d love to hear about your personal experience with Missed Connections: has it worked, have you found yourself called out in a post, or, if you haven’t used it, would there ever be a case in which you would? The whole thing fascinates me.
Oh, and here’s one more for good measure.
UPDATE: Thanks to Alex Gabel for this, a link to New York’s Best of Craigslist. Fun for days.
3 years ago