The Great Deal Debate

The Groupon Challenge: We all know that local daily deals are all the rage right now (see Groupon and Living Social IPOs); but are they worth all the hype? Noreen Malone put daily deals to the test: she gave herself one week and $200 to live on Groupon deals (aside from a few basics she had stocked up on before). The results are less than spectacular. Noreen ran into the main issues that people often point out about daily deals sites: “nearby” was not always nearby; she ended up purchasing things she didn’t really need or that weren’t actually such a steal; presenting the coupon in restaurants wasn’t the best experience and dining deals sometimes meant limited menu choices. So can you live only on Groupons? No. Can you get good deals on stuff that’s worth it sometimes? Yes. It’s clear that daily deals sites still have room for improvement. Slate

Guess Who’s Back?: Once popular social network Friendster is back; but it’s been rebranded as a social gaming network (just as social gaming giant Zynga readies for an IPO of its own). Hmm, good luck getting back in the social network game. psfk

Facebook Records: The Guinness Book of World Records complied social media feats this year. Here is a list of the Facebook-related ones. Guess who had the record for most likes on a Facebook page? Facebook! AllFacebook

Google is a Belieber: Google has tapped baby-faced Justin Bieber for its new Google Chrome ads.

Chinese Video of the Day: Happy July 4th Weekend! Towleroad

https://digiday.com/?p=3907

More in Media

How The New York Times is using visuals to boost podcast discovery and grow listenership

To grow podcast listenership and help people discover new shows, The New York Times is experimenting with visuals on platforms like YouTube and its own audio app this year.

Media Briefing: Publishers search for new ways to grow (and authenticate) audiences, overheard at the Digiday Publishing Summit

“[Advertisers] already pay data providers for data. So why not pay the publisher?”

Research Briefing: Publishers’ revenue sources are top of mind at Digiday Publishing Summit

In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine which revenue streams were top of mind for publishers at the Digiday Publishing Summit, how TikTok is getting even more marketing spend from brands and retailers despite facing a potential U.S. ban, and how Disney is rolling out DRAX Direct, a direct integration with the industry’s largest DSPs, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.