I think the key point they're missing is that most tech goes through a "hype cycle" of unreasonable expectations followed by a crash followed by slow, steady, s

I think the key point they're missing is that most tech goes through a "hype cycle" of unreasonable expectations followed by a crash followed by slow, steady, solid growth[0]. That's the same trend at play here: it's not that the dotcom-bubble ideas were categorically idiotic, it's just that many were premature and overhyped. Now, a lot of those ideas are being done right, and people with a weak grasp on the underlying tech can't tell the difference. 0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle