There's a game that a lot of bloggers like to play, it's the 'in 500 words or less explain why web2.0 is or is not a bubble' game. We've previously answered this question in the affirmative, noting that instead of measuring the number of dollars into new startups, people should be looking at the time spent on them, as well as the opportunity costs of not focusing on more valuable pursuits. This viewpoint was dramatically bolstered this week after witnessing the absurd fiasco surrounding the redesign of the official blog of web2.0, Techcrunch. For those who don't know, Techcrunch focuses on gossamer reviews of new products and companies. It seems absurd to dwell further on the issues, but the story goes like this: the site gets a redesign -- everybody hates the new look and says so on their blog -- Techcrunch defends the design -- a user send their own suggestions to the site's own Michael Arrington -- Michael Arrington posts design on his personal blog -- original designer quits in a huff -- Michael Arrington complains that everyone hates him. This sorry drama unfolded over the course of a week, with bloggers closely following every step. If you go back and read the thousands of comments on various blogs about this silly little issue, you'll be scared to sit back and count the man-hours wasted on the whole affair. And remember, this is just a blog we're talking about. And the issue revolved around its design.
What's crazy is that this wasn't even the first Techcrunch-related kerfuffle of late. A few days earlier, everyone was debating the so-called 53,651-meme. As of last week, it referred to the number of Techcrunch's RSS readers. Now, that number stands at 56,205. The whole discussion isn't really worth getting into for most people, but if you care you can click on the link.
It's true that it's cheap to start a company these days, but that doesn't mean there aren't great costs. Time, effort and wasted mental energy are the chief offenders.
All we need now is for Michael Arrington to start dating supermodels and dance on bar tables wearing plastic pants and the cycle will be complete again.
Posted by: Andrew Schmitt | May 17, 2006 at 11:50 AM
I'm far from a Web2.0 expert, but...
there was a tech bubble too, but now many of the concepts that that bubble engendered(e.g. blogs) are re-emerging... perhaps it will be so with Web2.0 as well
Posted by: Vladimir Orlt | May 19, 2006 at 05:46 PM