I'm not sure if I can get IRB approval for this on short notice, but I'm thinking of running a little local experiment here Saturday. I've advertised my garage sale in the local newspaper (The Columbia Daily Tribune) and on Craigslist and a local Yahoo! groups - KwikSwapColumbiaMO. I'm going to hand everyone that visits a short survey that asks them where they learned about the sale. Then I connect their choice with how much they spent and keep track of it all. By comparing the groups (Newspaper, Craigslist, KwikSwap, and other) I will statistically suggest which method will predict sales. I'm a genius! I wonder if I can add this to my dissertation proposal.

Ok, I'm kidding of course (although the more I read this over, the more it sounds like a good idea. What a geek I've become!) But I think I will try to ask some people casually because I'm curious about which method will attract the most people. If I were really bold, I wouldn't have bothered with the Tribune at all and just counted on the Internet to drive traffic, but I'm a wimp and I still have a fair share of ink in my veins. However, my hypothesis is that the Web sites will account for more visitors than the newspaper. At least that's what I've heard anecdotally.

It makes sense too because Craiglist has really eaten newspaper's lunch in the classified business. The Yahoo! group theoretically gives me a captive and motivated audience because you have to join the group to see the listings. I don't think this is possible without the Web. Plus the Internet offers a wealth of other features that a newspaper doesn't such as an easy way to create a map to all sales. If I were really ambitious I could have even linked items in my description to images and reviews.

But I didn't because all I really care about is getting rid of stuff so we don't have to move it, and I think I have some things people can use. I can't help asking the questions and wondering if this is one of those moments when I need to test some of my wacky Internet ideas.

Now to be fair, the Tribune did give me a free Garage Sale Starter Kit with a couple of signs and some pricing stickers, I think. I don't remember and I don't really care. Who needs low tech signs when I can draw on the power of the 'Net to offload my stuff?