For tech, a bumpy year ahead

This isn't going to be tech's year.

Tech stocks are down, most notably the so-called "FANGs" (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google).

The one tech-ish presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina, is out of the running. That wasn't a surprise, but for Silicon Valley folks, there won't likely be another familiar face on the stump this year.

It's not just US politics. The Europeans want to tax tech's profits sitting overseas. Indian regulators ruled last week to ban Facebook's Free Basics, its limited but free Internet service. Tech, we're not as cool as we used to be. How bad is it? Tech leaders like Marc Andreessen can't tech-splain like they used to.

"We need more respect in our conversations across borders and more recognition that there are worthy debates to be had, for example, around issues like limits on free speech, as well as more humility, which was the opposite of what was exhibited in that exchange around Andreessen's tweets," said Irina Raicu, director of Internet ethics at Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. That's a good idea. And another one: Start talking about how to make the world we want, business models for the 100 percent, not just cool products for just a few.