A season in which it seemed any Internet company could raise unlimited sums on Wall Street has come to an abrupt end. Some have had to forgo buying luxury homes or other expensive baubles. Scores of Internet companies have had to postpone or cancel public stock sales, forcing countless techies to defer their dreams of becoming instant multimillionaires. It's not just the dot-coms, of course, that are feeling hangdog. Even the valley's stalwart citizens, blue-chip tech firms like Cisco Systems Inc., have gotten beaten up on Wall Street lately, amid growing doubts about the market valuation of the entire technology industry.
People feel less wealthy, and they spend less.
To be sure, most experts believe the market sell-off hasn't doomed the Bay Area. An almost religious belief in technology keeps many experts optimistic about the region's future. Conferences are held around a pingpong table. The hours are slavishly long, but no one seems to mind. We're really going to change the world.