I’m preparing to re-launch my other blog as part of my whole Digicraft website revamp. There is simply too much fascinating stuff to write about thats not directly related to dating, and I’ll be posting a lot more at a different url which I’ll share in a week or two.
Case in point, group buying is a good example of a topic that crosses over between Internet startup, B2C and dating. Next time around I’d probably mention it here and link to a longer piece on my other blog.
Group deals from site like Groupon are all the rage these days. I personally know a number of spa/yoga/workout/restaurant deals that have done incredibly well for the business. There have also been a number of huge fails, disgruntled business and sketchy companies trying to get in on the game while the hype is hot.
Group buying deals are the epitome of viral. I have received at least 10 emails from people saying “Hey, saw this helicopter lesson, thought you would love it.” That is awesome for the group buying site, because people share the hell out of this stuff socially, and it’s great for consumers, because we’re looking out and filtering deals for each other.
I saw this group deal from Living Social today on Match.com. Besides the circa 2008 cupcake graphic, I was pretty excited to see this. Interesting that Match says “This Match feature…” when its just an ad.
For one thing, Living Social is connected to Facebook, so I can see my friends who have also “liked” the service. Small issue with “liking” edgy stuff. My mom’s friend saw that I “liked” a condom manufacturer, and I had to explain Facebook, the like and my seemingly-perverse nature to her. I’ll never get that 30 minutes back.
Anyway, I started thinking about dating group buys. Match should buy us all a massage. We’ve put up with the kooks, the crazies, the losers and the rare marrying type. Five hours a week on the site on and off for years on end. I think we all deserve a massage, don’t you?
Back to reality. Going for drinks or dinner is so old school and shows a stunning lack of imagination and creativity. On the other hand, it’s tuesday night and work kicked your butt and you just want to meet someone nice, so off to the bar/restaurant you go. I’m guilty of this all the time and its sad because in a place like Boston there are always 50 cool things going on and singles often end up with the default drink/dinner combo.
What could Match and Living Social do specifically for singles? Here’s to hoping they put their thinking caps on.
Here’s CoupRecoup: a Craigslist for Reselling Groupons. See also, Group buying has jumped the shark. Here’s details on Vente-privee and the power of urgency. Seemingly most of my female friends know about this one. Personally, I unsubscribed from all of these sites a few months ago. Main reasons were twofold. too easy to buy stuff you don’t really need and also too easy to let deals expire. I must have $400 in expired stuff. Speaking of, I need to take the high-speed ferry to Provincetown in the next few days or my Groupon will expire.
So, group buying, is there a place for this in the dating world?
