Venture Capital & the Growth of Silicon Valley

Today, new business formation and venture capital have been enjoying an unprecedented popularity. Even the popular news magazines have discovered venture capital and the industry has probably received more public coverage in the last three years than in all of its previous history. This is pretty heady stuff to a group of people who for many years had trouble explaining what they did for a living to their wives. What's happened? Is it a fad or has something really fundamental happened?