[jcburnham]

> They were fed stories > They got fomo and bought in.

But the key factor is that they were they fed stories via a new information medium: The Internet. And the Internet is also where beanie babies could be bought (via ty.com) and resold (via Ebay). An argument could be made that Ebay might not even exist today without the beanie babies phenomenon which gave it early traction.

[jshen]

If you’re suggesting that we need garbage that exploits people to have things like eBay … well, let’s just say I don’t agree.

[jcburnham]

I'm suggesting that a large part of the phenomenon you're describing as "garbage that exploits people" is caused by the asymmetry of information found in new market technologies, and that as those technologies mature, those asymmetries dissipate. And that many market technologies we today recognize as good and wholesome started had that kind of bubble phenomenon when they first appeared.

[jshen]

Nope, it’s human nature.