LivingSocial Instant Deals - instant success

LivingSocial has managed to make the flashdeal even shorter with their new "instant deals." These are mostly food deals that last for a mere few hours and feature discounts like $7 for $10 of food and drink at The Brown Bag or $8 on any drop-in yoga class at Stroga.

On the website you can sort the deals by neighborhood and on the mobile app, it tells you what deals are nearby using your GPS position. Don't know where the restaurant is? No worries, they give you a map :)

Example scenario:  You work in Dupont Circle. Your co-workers want to go to lunch nearby. Using your LivingSocial app, you can find a deal near you, saving everyone at least 30% on their meal. You're the new office hero.




Imagine never having to pay full price for lunch or dinner again....


Every day there are new deals, and different deals for "lunch" (8-11 a.m. use window), "dinner" (11 a.m. - 3 p.m. use window), or "night" (9 a.m. - 7 p.m. use window). 

And the best thing? If you don't use the deal by the expiration time, you get your money back!! BRILLIANT!

There is a limit to one voucher per vendor per day, but buying deals from as many vendors you want is fair game.

LivingSocial like the rest of us

Groupon has some competition from LivingSocial.

I wouldn't really say competition because people can sign up for both of them, but Groupon's business model is spreading.

LivingSocial works just like Groupon in that you receive daily e-mails about steep group discount deals in your area and have a limited amount of time to snatch them up. It even has a similar layout.

However, there are some advantages to being second in existence for improving that business model.

Livingsocial includes deals of the day for areas around you in your e-mail and supplies a Googlemap for the deal of the day's location(s).

It also has LivingSocial Family Edition so parents can do fun things for cheap with the whole gang.

Possibly the best perk though, is the possibility of a completely free deal.

I think this is brilliant because then OF COURSE people are going to share their deals with other people doing some advertising for the business AND LivingSocial.

There is also an Escapes LivingSocial that packages a discount weekend getaway in some pretty cool locations.

LivingSocial takes "finding the best places in your city" to the next level. They have a "356 things to do in ___" list for major cities.  Users can comment on that choice supporting or refuting that claim while recommending somewhere else that is better. It's a cool forum for people to share and discover the cool things in their city.  

Now if only LivingSocial and FourSquare could combine, think of that social media network...

Let me know if you sign up and get any great deals!

Groupon's Been Googled.

It's been rumored that Google just bought Groupon for $2.5 billion.

It is estimated that Groupon is worth $1 billion and grossing $50 million per month for its venues. This is quite an accomplishment for a business that has been open only two years. No wonder Google wants them.

There have been Groupon copycats such as BuyWithMe, Qponus, LivingSocial and many others. 

This acquisition would separate Groupon from the rest of the copycats while also making GooglePlaces, which is designed to help local business owners gain an edge in search engine marketing, a database for venue choices.

But I ask, what about the little guys? Why do all start-up businesses need to be bought out? Why does Google need to own everything?  I'm not a fan of how these brilliant innovative ideas are being gobbled up by now corporate conglomerates.