It is all good for tech start-ups but it is creating a mass movement which many will find more & more difficult to differentiate between reality and unreality. The real-time nature would make it difficult to check facts etc if that really matters. In an economic sense do these sites etc create real value? It is difficult to get Asian companies to invest in something that doesn’t have a track record of profit. Some tech start-ups have huge value created by various interested parties but have little if any real world profits (remember the dot.com bubble of the late 90s?). Organisations with real profits have no chance of even coming close to a valuation multiple of a savvy tech start-up. Consequently these companies are exposed to buy-outs from cashed up organisations, an increasing portion of these being Asian. Even at a premium on market prices, many ‘old economy’ companies present bargains, including those controlling resources.

The question is: are these social sites blowing up the next bubble?

I really wish people would talk about ‘covenant’ more. Thank you.

Thanks also to Tom for sharing the Welsh word “hiraedd” which perfectly contains a poignant feeling I’ve experienced on a regular basis.

There’s a Welsh word that describes this feeling exactly: ‘hiraedd’ (pronounced ‘hirrayeth’). Often clumsily translated as ‘homesickness’, it’s more like “a grieving and a longing for that which is not, which has never been, and will probably never be”. A useful word, and a pain fully accurate one…