Put down the term sheet and step away slowly...

"Please God, give me one more bubble. I promise not to screw it up this time."

Bumper sticker seen on Sand Hill Rd.

I'm telling you right now: don't take the money. You don't need it. In fact, I think taking venture capital for Web 2.0 businesses is immoral (I'm overstating for effect, here). That is money that should, by rights, be going into projects that are truly capital-intensive and can really change the world, like cars that run on water or a pill that curbs your desire to ask your doctor about the latest designer pharmaceutical. Please, let's spend our time building cool but inexpensive things (or expensive, but really important things), and not frothing up the social networking investor frenzy until it collapses in another maelstrom of daytrader bankruptcy filings. I was scoffing to a friend the other day about how web 2.0 had only made it a lot cheaper to build companies with no discernable business model, when I thought to myself: wait a minute... that's really fantastic. Think of it: No "hockey stick" revenue graphs, no powerpoint sleaze, no VCs... ever. Work hard, have fun, maybe even get a little bit rich. Now that's cool. Try this on: What's new about Web 2.0? A new model for web-based micro-business, based in small geography-independent social groups. Social (network) proximity joins physical proximity as the foundation for the establishment of online "neighborhoods". ...this is an interesting idea. I'll think about it some more and get back to you. What do you think?