The problem with the bubble metaphor.
by Steffan Berelowitz
Steffan Berelowitz founded Bit Group, Inc. in 1995, and over its 13-year history has helped to develop a client list of Fortune 500, mid-market and emerging businesses. In addition to his responsibilities at Bit Group, Steffan served as a trustee of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MA Software Council) from 2001-2006. Steffan served on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston as the chair of the advisory board of the Center for Information Technology of Hebrew College. Steffan is a member of the Boston College Technology Council. He is also a member of the Technology Network, a national network of senior executives from the nation's leading technology companies. Steffan served as an Internet consultant to former senator and presidential candidate Senator Bill Bradley. A graduate of Boston College, Steffan has spent the past 15 years in online services and technology. In 1993, Steffan was one of the key founders of ArtNet.
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Having been a Web consultant since 1995, I have learned a thing or two about bubbles. As the dotcom era of the 1990s transitioned from irrational exuberance to disillusionment, the most important common denominator was the irrationality of both extremes. In recent years, Web 2.0 and social computing have driven a wave of investment with some people now concerned about another bubble.
The problem with the bubble metaphor in technology is that it implies an ephemeral, fragile, and rapidly rising trend which… pops. The truth about the past dotcom bubble is that now, 8-years after the “pop” none of us could imagine running a modern corporation without e-mail and a browser on our desktop, to say nothing of E-Commerce, VOIP, chat, etc.
The term bubble is an oversimplification of a short-term speculative boom & bust, and most importantly, it is misleads investors, enterpreneurs and the public from a sustained and rational confidence in an underlying trend of lasting innovation. This is not to say that there aren’t winners, losers, and lessons to be learned in the advent of any new technology, but social computing is here to stay. We’re in the midst of a revolution in collective intelligence, with thriving and vibrant online communities breaking down boundaries between public and private life. This is changing the way we work, play, and collaborate forever. We’re really at the beginning of a new era in social computing, and a there is nothing temporary about it.

