1999-2001: The Rise and Fall of the Dot-Com Bubble

     Welcome back, everyone! Instead of focusing on a current event, we're going to backtrack a little bit to examine a significant period in the global economy: the financial boom of 1999-2001 and the minor recession which followed.
      In the mid to late 90s, vast improvements in computer-based technology and communications (such as the development of the Internet) ushered in what became known as the Dot-Com bubble; indeed, the overwhelming optimism surrounding this prospective new field fostered the growth of completely new job sectors and IT careers. It was essentially required of any large firm at this time to make the progression into the "Information Age" and integrate computers into the workplace. Needless to say, the implementation of the Internet had a profound effect on society as a whole, and the economy experienced an unprecedented boom as commercial activity flourished.
     Of course, all that glitters is not gold. As revolutionary and beneficial as the Internet proved for commerce, the World Wide Web gradually became a commonplace standard for all firms and businesses. Thus, by 2001, much of the optimism regarding the "dot-com" era had subsided, resulting in the creation of fewer jobs and a slower rate of development for those firms which had yet to implement this new technology. Consequently, the Dot-Com bubble collapsed, sending much of the world into a minor recession of economic activity; additionally, the unfortunate tragedy which occurred on September 11, 2001 served to undermine the global market even further.
     Upon comparison with other global recessions (especially with that of the late 2000s), the recession of 2001 reveals itself to have been relatively minor and short-lived, leading some to question whether it should truly be classified as such. Nevertheless, the commercial boom of 1999 and the economic cliff of 2001 epitomize the transforming Information Age, a time in which a revolutionary new technology came into the business world, developed at an astonishing rate, and eventually matured to become the modern-day norm with which virtually large firms conduct business. Perhaps when the Internet meets its twilight years and some shimmering new communication system comes to fruition, we may look on the fate of the Dot-Com bubble as a precautionary tale.

-Chris Cattafi, Co-Founder/Vice President of LMHS Investment Club