Lookery.com

Jason’s even more down on 2008 than I am, at least from this morning’s twitter replies. I think that’s because he’s outside Silicon Valley more than he’s here.

I’ve been saying since 2004 that the Dotcom2 cycle would end in mid-2008, but I think Jason is overestimating the effect that the US’s self-induced economic weakness will have on consumer Internet startups. The financial excesses this time are so minor relative to 1999/2000 that the blowback will be dampened too. As an industry sector, we’ve cut costs to a degree beyond what Merrill Lynch, or even E*Trade, could ever consider.

With four full-time employees, Lookery served 169M+ ads in December for around US$4k in hosting costs. We’ll be able to improve the economics from there as we grow.

While not all roses and sunshine, my outlook parallels John Battelle’s more than Jason’s. He’s as down in the mouth as his dogs. Remember to ignore the ‘Vette.