When you are immersed in the Expectational Analysis (EA) methodology day in and day out, it is easy to develop tunnel vision and apply this concept to stocks and options exclusively. Today, however, a blog posting over at TechCrunch reminded me that you can actually apply EA to more than just trading. (Okay, I would use this for trading in technology stocks, but not in the usual direct manner.)

Specifically, TechCrunch highlights Gartner's "Hype Cycle" as it applies to new technologies. The blog post notes that cloud computing, microblogging, and 3-D printing are near the "peak of inflated expectations." For microblogging, think Twitter, and if you haven't heard of "cloud computing" yet, you need to pay more attention to Google (GOOG), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Yahoo! (YHOO).

Meanwhile, there are some technologies that are rebounding from the initial beat-down of high expectations, and may be finally emerging into their own right. Of these, Crunch highlights Tablet PCs and location-aware applications. We can thank the iPhone for the latter of these, though I think it could have some bearing on making tablets popular with its touch screen, as well .