FUDBuster: Does the Dot-Com Business Still Live?

FUDBust: Still think e-commerce hasn't changed business as we know it? A report issued by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/NetRatings indicates that U.S. shoppers spent $23.2 billion online this holiday season, up 25 percent from the $18.5 billion spent during the 2003 holiday. An AOL study indicates that regular Internet users did more than half of their shopping online this year. That's a radical change for retailers that have been selling in storefronts for decades.

But consumers aren't the only ones quietly moving toward dot-coms. According to a study by Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, 42 venture-backed technology companies held their IPOs in 2004, and most of them were founded between 1997 and 2000 at the height of the dot-com boom. Another 57 venture-backed IPOs are slated for 2005. For a dead market, that seems very much alive.