Say, just for the sake of argument, that Web 2.0 is a bubble. If so, and assuming it one day pops, what public companies get hurt? I mishandled a variant of that question a few nights ago on CNBC, so I'm looking for better ideas.

Some candidates:

* Google (GOOG). It is entirely levered to online advertising, and to the extent that online ads are at the root of the W2 enthusiasm, then you have to say Google gets hurt.
* Adobe (ADBE). While the company hasn't exactly been rocketing along, you could argue that its recent business improvement is tied to the uptake on Flash, and Flex in particular. Those are both key technologies in all sorts of video and non-video W2 services, so it is a candidate.
* Yahoo (YHOO). Same kind of argument as Google, although as a fringe player in many markets, it is likely to get whipsawed less.
* Fox Interactive (NWS). One word: MySpace.

Others? My list feels too short, which may just be a sign this is a private market bubble, or it may mean I haven't thought about it all hard enough.

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top 20 web 2.0

Paul Kedrosky

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