Groupon Rejects Google

According to a news story out of the Chicago Tribune a few minutes ago, Groupon has apparently rejected Google's $6 billion takeover attempt. This probably won't be apparent to Google now in their throes of takeover passion but this is a good thing. I've mentioned before that Groupon is a fad. It's a fad business model that preys on businesses. There is no long-term sustainability in the social buying business model but Google can probably build their own "Groupon" using their ample resources for a tenth of what Groupon would have cost them.

Yahoo Spending $2 Billion To Buy Groupon?

   I chuckled when I read Kara Swisher's article on Yahoo's potential takeover plans for Groupon. Hey Yahoo, why would you spend $2 billion on a fad with few barriers to entry? If Yahoo had any initiative, they could easily start a Groupon clone themselves but they're not innovative like that. Yahoo is like one of those lumbering giants that lost its zest for life in the last decade and now gets by with the scraps. Google ate Yahoo's breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

   Kara's article also brought up memories of the rumors that Yahoo was going to take over Facebook for about $1.5 billion a few years ago. Facebook's market valuation is now higher than Yahoo's based on trading on SecondMarket. Ironic ain't it? The sad thing is, if Yahoo had taken over Facebook, they would have ruined it. Yahoo has a lackadaisical and middling corporate culture. I know this because I am friendly with a project manager there who left the company for greener pastures. I thought Yahoo was out of their facking minds when they turned down Microsoft's takeover offer a few years ago. Since that tragic episode, Yahoo's shares have tumbled about 50% and have flatlined for the past year.

   What would be my advice to Yahoo? Sell. Sell yourself to someone who's hungry and has ambition. As it is right now, Yahoo is a comfortable calf who's content to sit idly by while younger, leaner, and hungrier companies gobble up market share and become the next titans of the internet.

Twitter is a fad

   Yeah, it's a fad. F-A-D. I said it when the service first started gaining critical mass and I said it again when Ashton Kutcher became the King of Twitter. This is the third time I'm saying it and that's because I tend to reiterate when I'm right. I'll list some other recent fads that have faded:

1) Crocs
2) Wheelies Sneakers
3) Scooters

   Okay, maybe the most recent scooter phase died down a few years ago but it's late and I'm about to wind down for the night. Fads blaze brightly for a short while before they die down and they never regain their popularity ever again. In the midst of a fad's prime, everyone thinks it's going to be the next big game-changer but it never is. It's just another short-lived pop culture phenomenon that's adopted by a lot of people but abandoned after the fad is over.

   How long before Twitter is relegated to the abandoned phase? Give it another year. By then, Twitter will be like Friendster. Remember that social network which used to be THE social network before Facebook ate everyone's lunch? That's Twitter in another year. Come to think of it, that's Groupon in another year too.