Return of dot com boom?

Michael Copeland and Om Malik of Business 2.0 magazine have written a wonderful piece for CNN Technology. According to the authors, "Startups are hot -- again. Valuations are nuts -- again. Fortunes are being made -- again."

I agree with them. Look at the insane $4.1 billion Skype-eBay deal that has all the pundits and analysts scratching their heads. Rupert Murdoch was eyeing Skype after acquiring Intermix Media for $580-million.

I quote from the article:

• Corporate IT spending, both an engine and an indicator of tech industry health, was up 9 percent through the first half of 2005 and is expected to rise 7 percent more in 2006.
• Internet advertising, $9.6 billion last year, was up 26 percent in the first half of 2005 and is projected to hit $12 billion for the year
• Google is sitting on more than $7 billion; Yahoo has about $3.5 billion. Microsoft remains the cash king with almost $40 billion on hand. A lot of that money will be earmarked for strategic objectives—acquisitions

I am not sure if Startups are really hot or not. But Valuations are definitely nuts -- and yes, again. We are beginning to see Fortunes being made -- example Myspace, Skype.

Whether this becomes Internet Boom 2.0 or Bubble 2.0, remains to be seen. I think we can all use a boom right now ;-)

Read the complete story - "Tech's big comeback"