“On the general question of bubble, in the first place you don’t know it’s a bubble until the bubble ends, by definition. The rule I set for myself 10 years ago was that if the press calls it a bubble then I’d pay attention.”
— Eric Schmidt, Google executive chairman (TechCrunch)

* Though Schmidt’s recent comments (see above) at this year’s Sun Valley conference hints we’ve got another tech bubble on our hands, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen argues otherwise. Also in the same interview, Andreessen takes a shot at The Social Network’s director. “Aaron Sorkin was completely unable to understand the actual psychology of Mark [Zuckerberg] or of Facebook. He can’t conceive of a world where social status or getting laid or, for that matter, doing drugs, is not the most important thing.” (The New York Times)

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 It’s been out less than a month, but Google + could already have upwards of 4.5 million users. That’s what serial entrepreneur Paul Allen — not to be mistaken with the Microsoft co-founder of the same name — concluded after some preliminary numbers crunching. He’ll publish his complete findings later today. (Google)

* Google + thoughts from a Facebook developer. On the subject of the fledgling social network’s “Circles” feature, which lets you share content with customizable groups of people: “A very interesting combination of ’emotional glue’ and ‘interest glue.’ People will share content they feel is relevant and interesting to the recipients. If I have a ‘Tennis Lovers’ Circle, I’d be happy to share and discuss all the tennis content that would normally bore my general friend group. This should enable people to share niche content they would have previously stayed quiet about.” (Momentus Media)

* Want a peek at Spotify’s plans for U.S. domination? Head over to All Things D, which got its hands on some interesting info, including projections that the music streaming service will reach 50 million American users after just one year of stateside operations. (All Things D)

* Allegis Capital partner Jean-Louis Gassée’s critical (and excellent) analysis of HP’s acquisition and attempted integration of the WebOS platform, the operating system powering the company’s TouchPad tablet. (Monday Note)

* According to The Guardian’s Robert Crum, the traditional book isn’t dead, it’s just shape-shifting. (The Guardian)

* Storytelling and social networks: Why Twitter beats Google +. (ReadWriteWeb)

* What will tomorrow’s consumer look like, and how will they behave? Here’s a hint. (YouTube)

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