During the dot-com boom, everyone (investors, media, the guy on the street) was mesmerized by the large traffic numbers posted by new players - many of whom based IPOs on dubious metrics such as eyeballs and page views per visitor. Today, the numbers game is still alive and well, although the tools to analyze traffic, etc. have become more sophisticated. forevergeek takes a stab at challenging the belief  MySpace has 100-million members. After doing some rough research, forevergeek concludes MySpace has closer to 43 million members after taking into account millions of people (like me) register for MySpace but never or rarely go back. Now, 43 million registered users is still impressive and it gives MySpace a lot of economic potential as advertisers pursue the ever-elusive youth demographic. I would add to forevergeek's skepticism that young people are fickle and exhibit little brand loyalty. MySpace and Facebook may be hot today but they could be Friendster tomorrow. When it comes to getting a handle on the social network phenomena, check out this hilarious Trendspotting video from The Daily Show.
Update: Speaking of big numbers, RBC analyst Jordan Rohan believes MySpace could be $15-billion. Yes, that's billion. While Rohan's speculation has been widely criticized, Henry Blodget rushes to his defense, suggesting it's a bold statement at a time when "analysts are terrified of saying anything bold for fear of getting sued". Blodget adds that "for those who have watched the Internet for a while, however, the idea is far from outrageious. MySpace could easily be worth $15-billion in a few years, or more....or $1b, or somewhere in between.". Sorry, Henry: you can't eat your cake and have it too. You need to be a bold blogger and tell us what you think MySpace could be worth - otherwise you're just fueling the speculative fires. 
   To be frank, it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a Wall St. analyst to come up with outrageous predictions. In the spirit of things, I would suggest Google is going to be worth $1-trillion in five to 10 years based as more advertising migrates to the Web. Who's to say this prediction is any less valid or offside than Rohan's take on MySpace? By the way, Paul Kedrosky adds that Rohan's prediction is nothing more than a marketing ploy similar to what Blodget did during the dot-com boom (Remember Blodget's $400 target price for Amazon?)

In Toronto, the city recently spent a whack o' cash (estimated to be as much as $500-million over 20 years) to buy a landfill site a couple hours away. Amid the growing controvery over the financial terms, it struck me there has been little or no talk how technology - both high-tech and low-tech - can play more of a role in dealing with the trash "problem", which is becoming an issue for large cities across North America. You can read my column on trash and tech in today's National Post.