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Learn about the implications and future of the groundbreaking classifieds website Craigslist.org when Cranbrook Academy of Art welcomes the site’s founder, Craig Newmark, to deSalle Auditorium on Thursday, April 27 at 7 p.m. Acclaimed designer Bruce Mau also will speak on Thursday, April 6 at 7 p.m. Both discussions are part of the 2006 Wired Magazine Speaker Series.

Touted as a web site that “restores the human voice to the Internet,” Craigslist helps more than 10 million people each month find everything from housing, jobs and dates to goods and services, social events and advice – all for free and in a non-commercial environment. Using a common sense, down-to-earth approach, the site strives to make the Internet more personal and authentic while advocating social responsibility through the promotion of small, non-profit organizations.

The San Francisco-based site was founded in 1995 when Newmark created a list of interesting events in the surrounding area for his friends. It quickly spread through word of mouth and over time, visitors to the site posted classified ads for jobs, apartments and items for sale. In 2000, a second Craigslist, in Boston, was formed; today, the site receives three billion page views and more than 8 million ads in a single month from the 190 Craigslists covering all 50 states and another 35 countries worldwide.

With more than 25 years of experience as a web-oriented software engineer, including 18 years at IBM, Newmark has become a leader in the online community. He is active in a variety of community activities and serves on the advisory boards of Climate Theatre and Haight-Ashbury Food. His site has received numerous honors and distinctions including recognition as “Best Community Website” at the 2001 Webby Awards and one of 2004’s “50 Coolest Websites” by Time Magazine.

Also as part of the Wired Magazine Speaker Series, acclaimed designer Bruce Mau will speak with Wired Magazine Senior Editor Laura Moorhead on Thursday%, April 6 at 7 p.m. in deSalle Auditorium. Mau will discuss his work and his thoughts on how design is improving the lives of millions of people today and in the future. The creative director of Bruce Mau Design in Toronto, Mau is also founder of the Institute Without Boundaries and former creative director of I.D. Magazine.

These lectures by Craig Newmark and Bruce Mau are free with museum admission. For more information, check out www.cranbrookart.edu or call 248 645.3314.

deSalle Auditorium is located in Cranbrook Art Museum, 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Enter on the west side of Woodward Avenue between Lone Pine and Long Lake Roads. Free parking is available adjacent to the Art Museum. The museum is open Wednesday – Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the fourth Friday of every month from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and major holidays. Admission is $6/adults, $4/seniors, teens and full-time students with ID and free for members and children 12 and under.