In light of Microsoft's latest spend on Facebook, many people have been referring to these times as the resurgence of the internet bubble, only this time it is being led by online media.

This week's 1.5 percent share acquisition of Facebook by Microsoft for a valuation of $15 billion represents more than just the biggest deal of the year. And while it's not the largest investment made, it's the biggest indication of what a company is willing to pay for a start-up like Facebook with the fastest-growing social media audience, even though there is no clear monetization strategy in place.

Facebook is a rapidly growing company amassing audience and data on users, and it is looking to assemble a revenue-generating strategy based on advertising that leverages customer knowledge. But the company has yet to put any of that in place to date.

Facebook is aligning itself with Microsoft to develop and expand its advertising revenue, even though Microsoft is a company that just announced that its online services division's quarterly losses doubled to $264 million.

Many people have been referring to these times as the resurgence of the internet bubble, only this time it is being led by online media rather than internet technology.

Venture and private equity investments are at an all-time high again, and start-ups are coming out of the woodwork with projections of huge advertising revenue returns. Social networks are the greatest new thing since the days of the portal, even though analysts and investors are stilling waiting for media giant MySpace to materialize into the revenue machine Fox envisioned when it bought the social network.

I don't think anyone expected a $0.04 CPM average or poor advertiser conversion rates to be the result of the social market space. Shaking ringtone ads now dominate the site courtesy of network ads.

So what does this mean for the bubble? When a company like Facebook has a hugely inflated value of $15 billion, you have to take a deep breath and look around. Expect to see the me-too investors jump in on the vapor-ware, widget-for-Facebook producers for a little while. 

Other major players will look for anti-Google audience acquisition targets for a little while too. But ultimately, the system starts to collapse when:

(1) The audience stays glued to the content and doesn't respond to the current forms of advertising or the means to generate revenue, and;

(2) Alternative revenue options like video do not have established standards or high adoption rates with advertisers yet.

The pressure on performance for publishers will drive investors into a lockdown as their money becomes less likely to generate the returns forecasted, and the wells will run dry quickly for new investments. Once the perception of the bubble-burst starts to spread, fear takes over and the tumble begins.

2001 is still pretty fresh in everyone's mind. Pop goes the weasel. The Microsoft-Facebook deal could be the pinnacle of the bubble.

Let's face it. Advertiser advantage. Online media has driven this recent surge of prosperity in the internet economy. Even though investors may have gotten out of control once again, media spend is up, and it will continue to rise. But competition for those dollars will have to decrease with the consolidation of properties, networks (search and display) and pressure on publishers to sustain and increase revenue mounts.

A pop in the industry will send people scrambling and the advertiser will be the one holding the cards again.

Ari Kaufman is vice president, publisher services for LookSmart. Read full bio.