2 posts caught my attention this morning.

Michael Eisenberg admits that the current web 2.0 scene reminds him of childhood memories which I personally very much relate to. Back in the 70s and 80s Hollywood blockbusters used to arrive in Israel 6 months late, for no apparent reason. Michael compares the new web 2.0 companies to that late arrival. I’m not sure newcomers to the space are late by definition, but in reality most of them are.

In his (very good!) Startup Review blog, Nisan Gabbay brings the inspiring story of HOTorNOT, a web 2.0 match making and personal rating service. Hot or Not launched with no VC money and with no marketing budget. They managed to put together a modest community of half a million or so active users. More importantly though, they now make between $5M-$10M a year. They key was real originality, the right mix of premium and free services and loyalty to the community. So much for the old “it takes $20M-$50M to build an end user play” cliche. Then again, Nisan tells it better.

Enjoy.