When it comes to finding apartment listings online without getting too bored, PadMapper is an eminent choice for the users. It is a platform that tends to make the process of finding apartments far more visually appealing by displaying available pads for rent through Google Maps. PadMapper had been aggregating data from Craiglist for quite some time. However, this has come to a stop now.
Apparently, Craiglist must be feeling that those looking for apartments are more likely to go to PadMapper than coming to Craiglist since PadMapper is like Craiglist plus visual appeal. And to stop this right away, Craiglist has served PadMapper with a cease-and-desist letter.
Naturally, this is going to be a major blow for PadMapper since a major chunk of its data came from Craiglist listings. The CEO of PadMapper, Eric DeMenthon wrote, ““It’s with a heavy heart that I must announce that PadMapper is no longer including Craigslist rental listings -– they’re currently being wiped from the search index. I recently received a Cease and Desist letter from Craigslist, and wasn’t able to get a meeting or convince Craigslist’s lawyer that PadMapper was beneficial to Craigslist and apartment hunters in general.”
DeMenthon further wrote that in more than one ways, PadMapper actually helped Craiglist in its business since if a user looked up a listing on PadMapper, aggregated from Craiglist, he would then be redirected to the original Craiglist listing. It’s strange why Craiglist folks seem unable to see this view of things.
Nonetheless, DeMenthon seems determined to carry on, with or without Craiglist. He further writes, “PadMapper still has a lot of other sources, I’ll be adding more, and I’ll keep mapping pads, but it’s a sad day for pad mapping and apartment hunting. Craigslist is a really important source of apartment listings, and I hope we can get it back someday.”
Source: PadMapper
Courtesy: Mashable
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