I don't remember the last time I saw such a large group of cheerfully unemployed people. Despite the thousands of dot-com layoffs just in time for Christmas, there doesn't seem to be much bona fide panic. In fact, a lot of job hunters are still cocky enough to put prospective employers through rigorous interviews. For one thing, the Internet economy is here to stay. There are plenty of formerly uninspired off-line employees who've reinvented themselves online, who will tell you that's a good thing.
Bad things happen to smart, enterprising people.
Just that realization alone will make some dot-commers a lot easier to have dinner with. Of course, there are doubters on the scene who say they have yet to see evidence of dot-com humility filter into their neighborhoods. Sasha Magee helped establish the Digital Workers Alliance last year for fellow Internet workers who want to protect San Francisco from runaway overdevelopment, and he hopes the layoffs may start a path to enlightenment. But he's not holding his breath.