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Recall, that at the time of the Netscape IPO (1995), Netscape and even the Internet was relatively unknown by most non-technical people, thus the ensuing hype a
by neovive 15y ago
Recall, that at the time of the Netscape IPO (1995), Netscape and even the Internet was relatively unknown by most non-technical people, thus the ensuing hype and gold-rush mentality. This time around, the Internet and social media is in the mainstream. Millions of LinkedIn and Facebook users are fully aware of the capabilities and limitations. There is clearly room to grow and LI has some excellent opportunities, but I don't think the same sense of excitement and awe exists around the LinkedIn IPO as there was for Netscape.
- wladimir 15y agoThe hype and gold rush mentality is still abound, but this time not about the internet itself, but about (social) applications of it and how much potential it still has to change our lives. Which is completely true, so this hype is not without fundamentals, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the current crop of companies will profit from it.
- rhygar 15y agoWhile "social" is sort of mainstream (in the sense that everyone and their mother is on Facebook), there's hardly any money in it. The vast majority of Internet users spend their time doing three things on the web: Facebook, e-mail, and time wasters like games & YouTube. So while the userbase is certainly very large, the revenue potential is very limited outside of those core activities.