It took the founders of Instagram less than two years to get a $1 billion bid from Facebook
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram . Whether Instagram's product is "truly original" is arguable, but when people see wealth created so quickly, time horizons may be shortened. In general, someone with a very good idea can monetize it faster than 5-8 years , which is a good thing IMO.
I suppose it's good if your definition of "a good thing" is revolves around making money quickly. Though I don't agree with your "in general" statement. Rapid monetization applies to ideas that can be rapidly developed. Some things, like new theories about gravitation, don't fit that model.
IMO, when profit becomes the primary focus, all kinds of problems develop: the focus shifts to stuff that can get done quickly, quality tends to decline, and more meaningful longer-term projects don't get attention. It's given us a Twitagram A.D.D. society.
To me, focusing on trivial stuff that generates PROFITS FAST is kind of like going through life eating mostly dessert. It's great for a while, but eventually, things in your body will start to fall apart due to lack of nutrients.
Academia has this problem just as badly as industry, with funded grants (and the indirect costs they provide) being the rapid payoff.
