Agreed, a website with low recurring expenses and high volume of quality traffic can probably survive just on advertising.
The problem with advertising-only models IMHO is that ultimately survival of the company depends on other companies' advertising budgets instead of the value it's products provide to their end users. At the moment that situation does not seem ideal.
"The problem with advertising-only models IMHO is that ultimately survival of the company depends on other companies' advertising budgets instead of the value it's products provide to their end users. At the moment that situation does not seem ideal."
Um, depending on users paying you is equally problematic. I imagine this moment isn't good for that either.
Advertising budgets are down just as much as consumer confidence - they are tightly related. But even in hard times people's needs don't change - save people time, money, or make them healthier, #2 might be more attractive in recessions, but people will always pay for any of those services.
The problem with advertising-only models IMHO is that ultimately survival of the company depends on other companies' advertising budgets instead of the value it's products provide to their end users. At the moment that situation does not seem ideal.