...or is it crazy that Groupon's valuation is so high? I can't believe they turned down a 6 billion dollar offer from Google, and now they've raised 950 million dollars in equity? And that $950 million is the highest equity financing since Pixar in 1995?

Look. Obviously, you shouldn't take financial advice from me: I'm a books editor at an alternative weekly. Clearly I don't know anything about money. And I know that the next big evolution in the internet is going to be an attempt to do local really well. So far, Groupon has managed to do that better than most. But, Jesus Christ, people: This has all the earmarks of a late-90s internet bubble, doesn't it?

Granted, there are some differences, the most obvious being that Groupon actually has a business model that makes money. But, still: Don't the people behind this flood of equity consider even for a moment that this might be a fad? I don't know. Feel free to bookmark this post and wave it in my face when Groupon topples Facebook as the Next Big Internet thing. I'll admit I'm wrong if that happens. But right here, right now, I'm just saying: Something smells funny about all this.