Dot-Com Bubble Begins To Deflate--Again

For the first time since the bubble burst, ad spending by so-called dot-com brands is expected to decline this year. The decline--a drop of about 4% to $4 billion--isn't nearly as severe as the 52% drop that occurred in 2001 when the dot-com market crashed, or even the 19% reduction that happened the following year in 2002, but it reverses a four-year upswing that has made dot-com advertisers' brands, products and services that are marketed primarily via an online destination one of the fastest-growing and most significant advertising categories for the overall media marketplace in recent years. More ...