Rafael Sosa’s Weblog

In a sign that seems to support the rebirth of Internet ad spending, popular site HOTorNOT has become completely free. They circled an email to their members today to announce that online advertising would be sufficient to support the costs of running the website, so it was no longer necessary to charge their members. The site became an overnight sensation in 2004 and has since seen a slippery decline in their traffic. However, they still manage to have retained enough traffic.

I expect for this trend of 100% ad supported sites continue to fuel the second wave of the Internet boom. As more and more companies rely solely on revenues from online advertising, it is difficult to see this as a long term sustainable revenue source. Nonetheless, this announcement will probably reignite HOTorNOT’s traffic numbers and take a bite off of websites in the dating field charging for memberships, such as Match and Yahoo! Personals.

In the meantime, all you single souls have a chance to hookup in the comfort of your homes for free.