The wobbly action of 2014 is still an open question: is this a correction, bear market or a bubble like the catastrophic dot-com boom and bust of 1999-2000?
Facebook's market value is close to $150 billion, despite its spending spree including an eye-popping $19 billion for messaging service WhatsApp and $2 billion for the virtual reality company Oculus Rift.
Facebook's value -- even after a slump of nearly 20 in recent weeks -- is 50 percent higher than that of Boeing, with the social network trading at some 90 times its profits, compared with a more conventional 20 percent for the aerospace firm.
Twitter shares have tumbled some 40 percent since peaking last year, but the popular messaging platform still carries a valuation of $25 billion, despite never having posted a profit.
Some firms have been eager to get listed, including food delivery startup GrubHub, raising $200 million with a $2.6 billion valuation, and Candy Crush maker King Digital, raising $500 million and a valuation of more than $5 billion.
Among companies not traded on the stock market, valuations are high too. Snapchat reportedly rejected a $3 billion offer, while Viber, another messaging app, was sold to Japan's Rakuten for $900 million.
The tech sector has been volatile, with large swings in recent weeks. On the upside, Chinese microblogging group Weibo saw a 19 percent jump in its market debut. But King Digital lost 15 percent in its debut.
Dropbox, a cloud storage firm believed to be eyeing an IPO, has an implied market value reportedly of $10 billion as venture capital floods into startups. Airbnb, the online retal marketplace, is believed to have a similar valuation.
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