
App Developer Makes Craigslist Mobile, the Legal Way - sunkan
http://mashable.com/2013/02/20/craigslist-mobile-app/
======
sunkan
I am the OP and CoFounder of Mokriya, the company that built Mokriya
Craigslist. It has innovative UI that is never seen before in any other apps.
Would love to know what HN thinks of the App. It is a complete redesign of
Craigslist on Mobile from the ground up, with innovative UI. Here is some
press about the app.

[http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/02/20/craigslist-
ap...](http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/02/20/craigslist-app-from-
mokriya-aims-to-simplify-mobile-classifieds/)

[http://techland.time.com/2013/02/20/its-craigslist-only-
on-a...](http://techland.time.com/2013/02/20/its-craigslist-only-on-an-phone-
and-beautiful/)

[http://pandodaily.com/2013/02/20/what-if-craigslist-had-
desi...](http://pandodaily.com/2013/02/20/what-if-craigslist-had-design-
sensibility-this-is-what-youd-get/)

Happy to answer any questions on how we built the app and thought process
behind some of the UI and UX in the app.

~~~
suyash
I have 2 questions for you: 1\. What kind of license did you get from CL? 2\.
CL does not even have an API, how did you scrape the data?

~~~
sunkan
1\. There is some upfront fee and they get a percentage cut of the revenue we
make.

2\. You are right, craigslist doesn't have an API, so whether you are licensed
or not, you have the same tools at your disposal. We did typical HTML
scraping, but our amazing Dev team did some really smart tweaks to present the
data in a beautiful way.

~~~
signed0
It's too bad that you had to resort to scraping. It's a shame that Craigslist
hasn't built their own API for those who pay for a license.

Are you doing the scraping server side or client side (inside the app)?

~~~
sunkan
client

------
justjimmy
It's always fun to experience new patterns and interactions.

In case you're looking for feedback:

1\. The location selection is reversed - ie: when I am selecting the city, the
State (smaller column showing only 2 letters) should be on the left not right,
since you're drilling down. (But for category selection, you have it the
'right' way, with the higher level/smaller column on the left).

2\. There's something going on with the top stroke at the top of the app,
below the 20px black status bar - it seems to get shorter then longer whenever
I tap the search icon top right. I noticed it since it was quite jarring.

Really enjoy the full width pictures in the listings!

~~~
sunkan
Thanks for thoughtful feedback. On number 1, we went back and forth on that
and now my memory is a little hazy on why we decided to stick with the way it
is.

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btbuildem
It's slick. It's nice to use. Doesn't fix the decades-old problems with
Craigslist - not your fault, the license they sell is incredibly restrictive
(basically allows you to make a mobile client for them and pay for the
privilege) and explicitly prohibits any kind of innovation.

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hnriot
Even though I said yes to allow it to use my location it put me in Santa
Barbara and I'm San Francisco.

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ethanparker
Awesome, it's about time someone made a nice-looking mobile experience

~~~
mratzloff
Hello, VP of sales at Mokriya.

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nanijoe
There are only about 7 million iPhone and Android apps that let you browse
craigslist..I don't see what makes this one different. @ethanparker, you can
try to be a little less obvious when upvoting a product you are associated
with

~~~
randomdrake
What a negative, hyperbolic and unnecessary comment.

I'm playing with the app right now as I've been using Craigslist (and various
apps of it) a lot lately.

I find the interface is really quite refreshing and nice. The real estate
listings, the various photographic listings, the polish and animations. It
really is a well done app.

Not to mention: it's officially licensed by Craigslist so there's a good
chance it won't be taken offline anytime soon.

I will be using this app for my Craigslist browsing on my iPhone and sincerely
hope an iPad app is soon on the way.

Maybe you should give it a shot? You might see something you like.

