Terrific story on Salon today: NYC consumers, not involved with high-tech or finance, meet in a focus-group on the dot-bomb.

Even more than the silencing of the sock puppet, or the spectacular crash of Boo.com, the death of Kozmo was a painful event, a watershed moment in the psychology of the economy of diminished expectations. It meant an end to the dot-com dream of instant gratification, constant connection and free stuff. “After sitting at home in my bathrobe, and having some nice man hand me my movie, how can I ever go back to Blockbusters?” asked one woman. “It’s like living in a Third World country.” Said a young man, a retail clerk: “I’m just so tired now. I’m tired all the time.”

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