> “I think many of you are missing Guy’s point here.”

The point is that this exactly topic is nothing new and has been discussed in GREAT DEPTH for the past two years (at least, if not more).

Guy’s blog post makes it sound like it’s some revolutionary idea, and that no one else has done it before.

Nearly EVERY web 2.0 has used this exact bootstrap model.

The epiphany that Guy is having is not that it’s something new, it just that its taken him this long to “getting it”.

His point is contrasting that now it takes thousands of dollars (or less for our next launch) to test an idea, instead of the tens of millions it took during the last bubble.

My dot-bomb experience (whatshotnow.com) went through all the typical excesses of the period, which makes me shudder compared to the lean launch we are gearing up for now.

Certainly I am not a fan of the “truemors” idea – I liken it to the crap on TV (e.g. American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Big Brother, Age of Love, Apprentice, Flavor of Love), it’s simply cheap unintelligent entertainment – but that is what a major portion of the internet users love. You don’t have to go very far to see Reddit, Digg, Perez Hilton are popular sites for the same reason. And when you give the power to the people – all people participate – not just the smart ones.

As someone who is developing a community site I can see the attraction of building something that will have mass market appeal. And Guy has a knack for that. If it is simply a move to make money, and I believe it is, he is rather crafty. But you won’t be able to keep the village idiots out. And those people are the ones who create the bad connotation for the community.

You´re completely right. I did mix´em up. Thank you.

It’s a shame, because The Art of the Start, which does have Guy’s name on the cover, is a great book.