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Diary of a dotcom demise

Brighthand founder documents his own boom to bust

Handheld site Brighthand is currently in limbo while its founder Steve Bush decides what to do. But, interestingly, he has written a lengthy document on the history of the dotcom and why it's in trouble.

Called "apology.html" it is basically a first-person account of that now-familiar phenomenon - the dotcom burst bubble. You won't learn anything particularly original but it makes good reading nonetheless.

Basically, Steve set up the site as a hobby. He wrote a few pieces on handhelds and was unexpectedly inundated with emails. The site grew and grew - as did the hours he had to put into it and the bandwidth costs.

Before he knew it he was working all the hours God sent and forking out a couple of grand of month running the site. And then the online advertising angel descended. The money came in, Steve quit his jobs and started working full-time on the site.

Then the advertising slump, content troubles, mistaken partnerships, ever-increasing traffic and costs - and away went his savings. Readers offered to help with cash, which amounted to little but left Steve with massive headaches in the form of irate and abusive punters.

Now, Steve has to decide what on earth he can with the site.

And this, ladies and gentlemen is the story of our times. Read it. Or give Steve some money. ®

Related Link

The dotcom collapse through Steve Bush's eyes

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