By Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher

What year is it? It's a fun question I sometimes ask people who have been through the dotcom boom in the 1990s. Some say 1998, others say 1997.

I say, it is 1996...

"God, I hope you are right, that would be great," someone told me recently. Just one more bubble (!) that's what a lot of (older) people are looking for, and I think they'll get it.

Silicon Valley always comes back stronger and bigger after each downturn. At least that's what I've noticed over the past 21 years.

Yes, we are older and wiser (and poorer) following the dotcom dotbomb, but...we know that internet 2.0 will have some of the same characteristics of Internet 1.0. And we know what some of those characteristics were :-)

What year do you think it is?