There seems to be an assumption here that most of the business ideas during the bubble were bad ideas. That's not true at all. In fact many of the earlier bubble ideas have since been recycled. They were simply before their time is all.
Now there certainly were a lot of bad ideas that got funding, but that was after the gold rush was already established. They were a symptom of the enthusiasm and optimism, and the lack of other high return investments.
I actually think this is a bubble, and it's much worse than the last one. Valuations are insane. There's very little investment competition from other verticals. Making it as shiny, if not shinier than it's ever been to a potential investor... which can only lead to...
most of the business ideas during the bubble were bad ideas
Maybe not most, but a significant number of business ideas during the dot-com boom were ill-conceived. Profit and sustainability were things that would simply happen as if by magic; the idea was to get a company out there, spend a lot of VC money marketing and building, and the rest would fall into place (as immortalized on South Park by "Collect Underpants ... ... Profit!").
Certainly there are companies today that resemble that M.O. a bit -- Twitter is useful and interesting, but their business model is still a work in progress after years. Most companies today are more sensical, are smaller in size and need less cash.
it's much worse than the last one. Valuations are insane
You obviously don't remember the dot-com boom. It's not worse; today is nothing compared to the ridiculousness of that era. A scant few companies have valuations that are questionable or appear ridiculous. They may be. But most companies -- the vast majority -- are not operating on crazy valuations. Back then, every company that began with an "i" or an "e" was worth millions, automatically. Today, we have, what, about five that are overvalued? That's a "bubble"? No, that's just exaggeration -- and a wild misunderstanding of what "bubble" means.
I think many people here are comparing the late stages of the dot-com bubble with what I would call the early stages of the current bubble. I remember it gradually getting hyped at first, then it hit a tipping point when pets.com happened (I miss the sock puppet). I also remember a lot of really great ideas being explored before it tipped.
So, I do remember the dot-com boom (in fact I was at a startup in Seattle during it), but I guess I remember the beginning of it being more humble.
I think we're just getting warmed up now and to me all the signs are there. This is when the hype companies are starting to show up. The recent high valuations are going to fuel the fire, and it's starting to get nuts. I don't think the lower operating costs are a factor. Most of the high profile dot-coms blew their wad on marketing.
It's just an opinion though, and it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. Guess we'll see how it goes.
No Tech Bubble specifically - ALL ASSETS OVERVALUED because the FED is adding trillions of $$ to the capital markets, most of which is being used to drive up commodity prices (intended to increase bank lending while also helping Wall Street Banksters get richer). IT'S CALLED INFLATION (almost hyper) and you can thank the US Goberment for increasing all of your input prices and food costs.
Now there certainly were a lot of bad ideas that got funding, but that was after the gold rush was already established. They were a symptom of the enthusiasm and optimism, and the lack of other high return investments.
I actually think this is a bubble, and it's much worse than the last one. Valuations are insane. There's very little investment competition from other verticals. Making it as shiny, if not shinier than it's ever been to a potential investor... which can only lead to...