We just need to buckle down, be cheap, creative and survive. Get to revenues quickly. But that doesn't mean its the end of the world.
This is when startups are made. The big Web 2.0 blockbusters all started up with things were down. Entrepreneurship is all about maximizing output using scarce resources. Lets do it then!
I think that's what the article is saying.
* If you charge money for a product and your customers are no longer willing to spend money, you're in trouble.
* If you rely on advertising for revenue and companies reduce their ad spending, you're in trouble.
* If you're hoping to get acquired and your potential acquirers are no longer able to spend money because of plummeting stock prices, you're in trouble.
It's not that easy.
Not to contradict your general point, but it's probably unwise to compare now with 2001/2002. That was not even close to a real recession. It ended with higher consumer spending than at the start. This time around consumption will plummet, possibly for years.