Buyout Or Bust: Who's Next In Bubble 2.0

The burning question, as Internet giants make a ritual of dining on user-generated startups, is about whether this bubbly climate can continue, and what, exactly, makes a good candidate for acquisition.

Atlassian, a proprietary wiki company and JotSpot competitor, says it most certainly is a bubble, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. "It's a bubble insofar as there's more hype than reality. It's different than in the late 90's, because the technology then was often vaporware, whereas the stuff being developed today works," said Silvers. The obstacle, he says, will be creating simple user interfaces that mesh well with other technology standards. In Google's hands, JotSpot will be transformed into a far-reaching, publicly accessible Web-based wiki, aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. This transition, according to another JotsPot competitor, Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Bookmark murdok: