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I'm beginning to think the "bubble" has more to do with financial news needing something to report on and get people's attention than the broad performance of t

by Kinnard 11y ago

I'm beginning to think the "bubble" has more to do with financial news needing something to report on and get people's attention than the broad performance of the industry. In that case, it's the "Ad Bubble" not another tech bubble.

rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
Spot on. Unlike the 90s, a lot of startups today are actually making things and making money hand-over-fist, it's insane. Too bad for the press they're obscure business models and located in places like Lansing MI and you've never heard of them, but there is tons of money to be made. On the other hand, social networks, big data, and now neural networks are The Big Thing, so everyone relentlessly reports on them, throws money at them like the hottest stripper in Vegas, and gets resoundly disappointed when they don't live up to people's astronomical expectations. Besides, if people generally only spend $X a year on stuff they see advertised or sold online, how much money is going to be sunk into online advertising, big data, and all that other junk until you're basically getting one dollar earned for every dollar spent?
- dismal2 11y ago
  the question is how much of the other stuff being built is built on top of the ad money pyramid. would cloud computing have grown as much without tons of apps and sites springing up that then try to acquire users via the main adverting channels? how many saas businesses are there catering to these types of cos that are basically unsustainable, but got funding which they primarily used in user acquisition efforts?
  - rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
    Yeah that's a scary thought. You get a bunch of businesses that are flush with VC money and that opens opportunities for other companies that rely on their services or networks (granted that usually means google <thing> or AWS but that doesn't make their arbitrary removal of services any less capricious), and suddenly the pyramid wobbles like a house of cards. Then again I'm naturally averse to invest in anything that doesn't have a profit motive front and center.

by Kinnard 11y ago

rm_-rf_slash 11y ago

Spot on. Unlike the 90s, a lot of startups today are actually making things and making money hand-over-fist, it's insane. Too bad for the press they're obscure business models and located in places like Lansing MI and you've never heard of them, but there is tons of money to be made. On the other hand, social networks, big data, and now neural networks are The Big Thing, so everyone relentlessly reports on them, throws money at them like the hottest stripper in Vegas, and gets resoundly disappointed when they don't live up to people's astronomical expectations. Besides, if people generally only spend $X a year on stuff they see advertised or sold online, how much money is going to be sunk into online advertising, big data, and all that other junk until you're basically getting one dollar earned for every dollar spent?

dismal2 11y ago
the question is how much of the other stuff being built is built on top of the ad money pyramid. would cloud computing have grown as much without tons of apps and sites springing up that then try to acquire users via the main adverting channels? how many saas businesses are there catering to these types of cos that are basically unsustainable, but got funding which they primarily used in user acquisition efforts?
- rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
  Yeah that's a scary thought. You get a bunch of businesses that are flush with VC money and that opens opportunities for other companies that rely on their services or networks (granted that usually means google <thing> or AWS but that doesn't make their arbitrary removal of services any less capricious), and suddenly the pyramid wobbles like a house of cards. Then again I'm naturally averse to invest in anything that doesn't have a profit motive front and center.