Digital: The Y2K e-commerce tumble

2K will prove to be one of the most interesting years in history. Not for the reasons some suspected—the synchronized global shutdown of computer systems due to their failure to recognize the date rollover to “00.” In fact, Y2K probably won’t be remembered for any particular technological event at all. It will be known as a landmark year in capitalism—a year of extremes. In one year, we witnessed both the greatest growth in the technology-oriented Nasdaq, as well as its impressive implosion. Y2K saw the foundation of the IT economy crumble at the same time it helped produce the largest U.S. budget surplus in history. During the same time, investment in dot-com startups reached a feverish pace, equaled only by their precipitous fall from grace. Forget the fact that the “father” of the Internet won the Presidential popular vote but lost in the electoral college. Forget that global equities markets are collapsing despite the prevailing view that global economies have never been in better shape. Y2K may be one of the milestones in the history of capital-