On Groupon Buying The Alfred App

Alfred might be the best example of artificial intelligence used on a restaurant recommendation app. Yesterday, Jason Kincaid wrote that Groupon is on the verge of acquiring Clever Sense, the company behind Alfred. This acquisition should bode well with $GRPN investors. 

If you have never heard of Alfred, imagine an iPhone app that ‘speaks’ restaurant recommendations to you. What separates Alfred from the competition is something called model-based learning. Alfred is a semi-intelligent agent that is capable of serving a unique recommendation drawn from the user’s taste preferences. Like Siri, Alfred listens and adapts to the user. It really is something magical. 

And now Groupon is acquiring Alfred’s technology. 

Groupon will likely use Alfred’s AI technology to power a new method of targeting customers. “It seems like you enjoyed the dining experience at Chop House. I thought you might also enjoy Waterbar. You are close to the restaurant. Click here to purchase a $10 for $25 coupon,” Alfred will say.

Using location data to target customers is great, but using location data in conjunction with a user’s taste preferences is even better — thumbs up for Groupon if they actually go through with this acquisition.

UPDATE - Dec. 13th 2011 – Damn, Google outbid Groupon!

(Source: techmeme.com)

Spotify Apps are here!

Today Spotify released an API and an app store. You can catch up on the news over at Techmeme.

Spotify:

Thanks to Spotify Apps, the best music reviewers can help you discover great music to listen to. Help yourself to recommendations through Last.fm and We Are Hunted, and expert tips from Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Pitchfork.

But that’s not all…

Let’s say you’re listening to a new track and you’d like to know the lyrics. Just click over to the TuneWiki app and see all the words of the song perfectly synced as you’re listening.

Maybe you want to see a gig this weekend? Check out the Songkick app to find out if any of the artists in your library are performing near you. Then get your hands on tickets with a few clicks.

~
Spotify is quietly building a monster. By opening up its API, Spotify hopes to become the backbone to your future digital music library. 

In the past, almost everyone used iTunes to manage their music. It was the best product available. But trends show that consumers no longer want to manage their own music. They want someone else to do it for them. And who could blame them?

• Building a large music library in iTunes is very expensive.
• Managing ID3 tags is a pain in the ass.
• Syncing across devices is also a pain. Why sync when you can stream? 

That last one is the real killer. Why sync when you can stream? iTunes Match attempted to solve this problem, but it pails in comparison to the competition — Spotify, Rdio, Mog, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Tunein, Turntable, Pandora, et al.

The competition is heating up. But Apple is stuck playing with wooden bats. iTunes’ core product is fundamentally flawed. Consumers want to stream, not own. They have always wanted to stream, but in the past the technology just wasn’t there. Streaming music players need a fast internet connection.

If iTunes falls, the top spot will be up for grabs. Today’s news is an example of how Spotify is positioning itself to take on the top spot in the event that consumers flock away from iTunes.

Should RIM port BlackBerry Messenger to iOS and Android too?

VentureBeat:

In yet another blow for BlackBerry loyalists, Research in Motion announced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion today, a tool that will allow businesses to make employee iOS and Android devices just as secure as RIM’s own smartphones.

Related: RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service is one of the best messaging platforms out there. How long before RIM gives up on BlackBerry and ports their BBM service over to iOS and Android?

(Source: techmeme.com)

On Microsoft Office’s Perilous Future

Microsoft’s technology dominates corporate IT departments. The sad reality is that businesses have been slow to adopt the new cloud stuff. And yet, when it comes time for businesses to finally upgrade their tech, they are realizing that Google’s offering is not only superior to Microsoft’s, but it is also a lot cheaper.

NY Times:

Google maximizes the appeal of documents, calendars and spreadsheets at a cost of $50 a person a year. Many companies say that is 50 percent to 80 percent cheaper than Office.

Not to mention, Google is forcing Microsoft in to spending a bunch of money on customer retention. Slowly, Google is chipping away at Microsoft’s profit share.

NY Times:

Most corporate software is sold through big consulting firms, like I.B.M. or Accenture, but Google has yet to use a partner. “They have approached other companies, but others think it’s not in their best interest,” said David M. Smith, an analyst with Gartner. He estimates Google gets just $150 million a year from Apps, and that it is not enough to cover costs. Google says it does make a profit.

Instead, it uses the business in “asymmetric warfare” with Microsoft. “Google spends $1 to make Microsoft spend $10 defending itself, because Microsoft went after Google on search,” Mr. Smith said.

Microsoft is dismissive of the situation.

Your new home office will sit in the cloud and be paid for by your employer. Face it, that is the future. Look at the current crop of recent college grads. An unprecedented number of us are working from home on our computers (me!).

This setup benefits not just the employee, but also the employer. Employers can use the cloud to cut costs. Social interaction with your coworkers will be done in the cloud, not at the physical office. At least, that is what Marc Benioff wants us to believe.

When it comes time to upgrade their infrastructure, businesses will make a rational choice and choose Google Apps over Microsoft Office — it is cheaper and easier to use.

(Source: techmeme.com)

Like Enron, Groupon Is Firing The Worst 10 Percent of Its Sales Staff

Reuters:

Daily deals site Groupon is replacing the worst 10 percent of its sales staff as it pushes to win stronger deals from merchants and ensure it can keep growing, the company’s chief executive told potential IPO investors on Wednesday.

Andrew Mason is fostering a culture of corruption at Groupon. The pressure is on. The bottom 10 percent of employees will be fired. This is as cut-throat as it gets. Employees must be willing to do whatever it takes to get on top. Some will even cheat.

Enron perfected this model. Each year Enron’s management would hold employee reviews, where managers would fire the worst 10 percent of their employees. This led many employees to do things that they otherwise would not have. Some broke the law, others misrepresented their trades. Eventually Enron imploded. The company’s President and CEO, Jeff Skilling, along with its CFO, Anthony Fastow, were sent to jail for committing fraud.

A company’s culture is set by its management. I am not a fan of what Andrew Mason has chosen to do. This is business ethics 101. It is not smart to breed an overly competitive corporate culture.

Ethics.org:

Corporations are composed of cultures. Take a good close look at your culture. What are the norms of behavior? What is valued? Are employees rewarded for succeeding at any cost or are they urged to be shepherds of the corporation’s reputation as well as its assets? What pressures do they face to commit misconduct? What systemic problems exist that could encourage good people to make bad decisions?