Bubbles are cute and thrilling AND THEY END

There's an undertone of excitement in the speculation around the net that a new tech bubble is rising. I've found myself feeling a little caught up in the buzz, even though, like millions of others, the other bubble was not so kind to me or my job or my now-laughable IRA balance.

Bubble is such a usable word. It's cute. It lends itself so well to wordplay, especially descriptions of the bubble popping or bursting, which is the whole trouble: a bubble by definition is fleeting, so why do we want one? The frenzy associated with big peaks on graphs results in very little benefit for ordinary folks. The only winners in that game are investors and players in the stock market and a few entrepreneurs. It does make business news more fun, because who doesn't like at least the idea of a wild ride?

But maybe we shouldn't feed the buzz with giddiness that implies by omission that a rollercoaster ride is a completely positive experience -- or that it's the only mode of transportation to the state of Prosperity. Maybe it would serve everybody better to turn the conversation to growth with longer-term stability in tech business. Or at least try to talk about permanent vitality along with the manic bubble babble.