Groupon...Is It Worth It?

For a while now when I go on certain websites I a see a little ad on the bottom for this website called groupon.com. I was curious but never checked it out, but maybe I should have. Groupon is a website that allows you to buy deals on things. Like buying $20 worth of food for $10. Good Idea right? Well it is and thats why there are now copycat companies popping up.

Groupon was started in 2008 in Chicago and then expanded to markets in Boston, New York, and Toronto. Now they serve over 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe and are also serving 35 million users in Asia and South America. In about 2 1/2 years this company has seen a tremendous growth. In December of 2010 Groupon turned down an offer of $6 billion dollars from Google to buy them out opting to stay independent. some may have thought this was a stupid idea but it may have worked in their favor because now they are in talks about becoming public and their IPO could be worth up to $25 billion. Thats a major jump from the $6 billion Google was trying to offer.

Whose to say though what's going to happen in the future. Although the idea of investing in such a company sounds good there are still some hold up possible investors are having. Especially with all these copycats like LivingSocial, SocialBuy, or TwoBuckDuck just to name a few, there is no telling what's really going to happen. Although Groupon has the edge right now anyone of these other companies can come up and take its spot. So begins the fight for the top spot in the deal game.

Just a Picture...or So Much More?

Snap! Snap! with one click of the camera your image can be brought up all over the internet. You could be minding your own business walking down the street or even eating at your favorite restaurant and some one can take your picture and pull up all your information on the computer.  With the invention of these facial recognition softwares these may very well start being the case.

 Facial recognition software uses algorithms of the face form images and pares them with a photo finder to find people on social networking sites. Although this process seems very mathematical and well calculated soon the average person will have access to these technologies with a click of the mouse.  

So how do we protect ourselves? That is a good question, but I don't really think there is necessarily a good answer.  It could be as simple as wearing a pair of sunglasses or a baseball cap when your out in public to conceal your identity but that might not be enough. This new level of privacy invasion is something that we may just have to get use to. Especially with companies like google, that billion of people have access to, are looking into these technologies do we really stand a chance. I guess we just have to tread lightly with letting people take our pictures and even posting pictures on the internet. Will this privacy ever stop or just continue to get worse? Only time will tell.

E-Marketing a huge affect on the Buying Decision Process

The internet is used daily by billions of people. Some just wanting to check e-mails, some on social media sites, others doing research, etc... so it only natural for marketers to use e-marketing to attract customers.  In this day and age our worlds some what revolve around technology and the bulk of it being the internet and what it has to offer. So why not capitalize on that?
E-marketing allows marketers to reach a broader more diverse consumer base. I know for me being a student I spend a lot of my time on the internet in turn seeing ads on different websites it defiantly sparks an interest to me.  E-marking is big part of the buying decision. If the ad can stick in the mind of the consumer then they are more then likely to consume that product, so if the ad is seen while doing something that is done regularly then its more then likely to stick. That's just my take on it.

Cell Phones Do Everything Now

In recent years technology has gone to new heights. From the initial boom of the Internet to things like smart phones and ipads it amazes me how far we have come. I remember when having a cell phone was only for the rich but now everyone has one even kids as young 6. Now with the invention of the smartphone a whole new market has opened up. According to gigaom.com 1in 2 American's will own a smartphone by Christmas of 2011.

People who own smartphones are usually people who want access to everything at their fingertips. Having a smartphone myself (team blackberry) I know just how convenient the many apps are. I mean there is an app for everything from picking a restaurant to showing you where the cheapest gas station is. Apps have added a whole element  the experience of our electronic devices, so it only makes sense that they would add apps that allow you to pay for things by scanning your phone.


It is cool that Starbucks added an app that you can pay from your phone. While the idea is cool, is it really that convenient? On one hand this technology could allow you to leave your wallet or purse at home and still be able to pay for something. On the other hand it can be argued that it take just as much time, if not more, to pull up that barcode as it does to just pull out a credit card or cash and pay. Either way its nice to have an option. 


These technologies are definitely on the rise and will continue to amaze us. Sometimes I wonder what's next; do you?