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