You know there’s a tech bubble when…
…the BBC makes it one of their top stories!
From the BBC story, “Inside the Silicon Valley tech bubble“…well written and entertaining, albeit with a sobering tone towards the end.
Below are some excerpts (emphasis mine):
“…Each month in San Francisco an audience of technology lovers, bloggers, journalists and potential investors gathers at the headquarters of technology news firm Cnet to hear four firms pitch their ideas.
Called the New Tech Meet Up, it is a networking event in which the “next big thing” in web developments meets the audience looking out for the hot new tip.
…In the audience is well-known west coast trend spotter Michael Tchong.
He tells the crowd: “There’s a huge amount of cash floating out there and it’s chasing too few good ideas.” This is what the audience wants to hear – that they don’t have to chase fortune with their plans, the money will chase them.
Across San Francisco and down into the Valley people believe the boom times – known as the bubble – are back.
…A year ago, the San Francisco New Tech Meet Up was eight people in a bar discussing technology; now there are more than 1,000 registered members.
…Mike Shroepfer, vice president of engineering for Firefox developers Mozilla, says the best way to work out if Silicon Valley is booming is to look at the traffic on Highway 101 which snakes down from San Francisco.
“If the traffic is a killer then you know times are good. “When the commute is pain free then that’s a signal that the bubble has burst.”
On that basis alone, times must be good in the Valley, for the journey on the 101 is painful indeed.
