Convergence culture:The humble classified ad is getting a new lease of life online, writes Haydn Shaughnessy

'You were in Barcelona with a group of friends . . . I am from Boston and we met at the Baja club there . . . you said your name was Donald and we had a great time dancing . . . you said you were a designer and that I had nice shoulders :) Would like to keep in touch . . . "

This is a missed connection, a service of the classified-ads website Craig's List. It's a missed connection for a Dubliner posted by somebody from the US. Missed connections are the emotional high water of the drama that is classified advertising and Craig's List more than any other website provides the theatre for those harbouring hope, whether seeking friendship, sex, an apartment,a job or a car.

I can't avoid looking at job ads even though I don't want a new job, and all the better if they are non-display classified ads. I peruse personals and sneak a glance at the getaway and holiday-apartment rentals regularly, telling myself, I must get in touch with those people. I never do. I just come back for more offers, never to be taken up.

What is it that draws us to the classifieds? A few facts: most newspapers around the world prosper because of classifieds, the small text ads that are generally bought by readers and small businesses. The world-wide market for classifieds is around $100 (€74) billion, according to analysts at Classified Intelligence, but it is the deeply personal nature of classifieds, their drama, that steals the show. Classified ads are a theatre because they at all times keep hope alive, even if all you want out of life is a bargain.

Craig's List, the mother of all classified sites, receives seven billion page views, has 20 million regular users and publishes 17 million new ads each month. These figures put any conventional advertising-supported medium to shame.

"Looking for a friend, heard he got deported back to Ireland from Quincy MA, US. He'd be about mid 30s. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks." Another missed connection. Missed connections began as a way of allowing people to say what they'd meant to say, perhaps even to a stranger. The woman or man you saw on a train but were too nervous to talk with or too busy to notice until later.

"I helped you pick out a super cute gift for the baby shower/party you were going to attend on Sunday evening. You had gorgeous blue eyes, clean shaven, and overall a well put-together man. I think we should go on a date :)" They're now used for rants. Yes, people get their emotional grievances off their chests by writing them into a classified ad. Missed connections are even used as a way to seek advice: "So, I got involved with a guy very soon after he and his ex broke up (according to him, it was over waaay before they actually broke up b/c she turned out to not be who he thought she was) but after hanging out with him (a lot) for two months, he seems to still have some unresolved and bitter emotions towards her . . . thanks for listening to me vent . . . my friends are on the verge of killing me! any advice would be great."

The curiosity of Craig's List is that Craig himself feels it is one big community, yet it is a community made out of individual wants and needs. It is the Craig's List model more than anything else that threatens the long-term prosperity of newspapers. Craig's List is free, for the most part, and where it does charge - in seven US cities - it charges at extremely low rates.

The classified has also migrated to websites such as LinkedIn, a social network of 10 million members who maintain their connections online. Recruiters now regularly use LinkedIn to post ads for high-ranking jobs.

And finally Google. The search engine delivers adverts for its client base in a form that resembles classified ads - small text units - and only charges when an ad has been looked at.

If these developments are disturbing to newspapers outside Ireland, the main fascination of the classified is actually how it is evolving in the hands of communities such as Craig's List. The ads are more than the sum of their parts but their parts reflect important fractures in the emotional lives of millions.

The pathos of a happiness forgone recently appeared in the columns of Craig's New York list. "We work together. You give me butterflies every time you walk into the office and past [ sic] my desk. I wish I could be yours but you already have someone. You deserve the best . . . and I am glad that you are happy b\c seeing you happy makes me happy too. Maybe one day someone like you will sweep me off my feet, too. Thanks for making my day brighter." We understand that anonymity and detachment are important to sentiments like these, though we may not really understand why. Meanwhile, we can just enjoy.

• Craig's list can be found at www.craigslist.org  

• Linked In (Relationships Matter) is at www.linkedin.com