It’s 1999 all over again — without the bad parts

Top 10 reasons the current wave of online real estate innovation is different (and better) than the “dot-com” era of 1996-2000:

1.   Innovation is no longer dependent upon industry approbation
2.   Hype is still a fact of life, but it’s a more self-aware hype
3.   The terms “revolution”, “paradigm shift” and “game-changing” are used less often
4.   Fewer VCs, more bootstrappers
5.   The consumer drives almost everything
6.   No IPO’s (yet)
7.   The real estate industry is no longer fat and happy, and thus more open to new ideas
8.   People realize that most of these new Web 2.0 companies will ultimately fail – and that that’s OK
9.   You don’t have to buy the cover of National Real Estate and Relocation Magazine to get the word out
10. More random musings on what it all means, fewer press releases

— Brian Boero