Is the dotcom bubble inflating again? The frisson over the Facebook deal with Goldman Sachs and its coming-soon IPO has certainly ignited interested. So has the expected IPO of Groupon. LinkedIn and Pandora, an Internet radio firm, have plans to go public as well. Now comes news that JPMorgan will create a new fund, to be run by JPMorgan's asset-management unit, that will raise between $500 million and $750 million to invest in privately held social media and related companies.

The fund will not invest in firms directly, as a private equity firm would, but rather buy and sell shares on the thriving secondary market for private companies. They are seeking companies that have generated revenue and profits--in a break with the old dotcom ethos.

Goldman may have got this ball rolling with its move to raise $1 billion from wealthy investors to invest in Facebook. The execution may have been botched just a bit; recall that the company had to make a last-minute change to limit that fund to individuals outside the United States amid regulatory worries.

But the idea here is the top banks need to be able to show potential client companies that they pack a mighty retail wallop that can support shares in the secondary market as well as the public markets. That said, it remains to be seen if social media, beyond a few big names, will emerge as a winning investment theme long-term.

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