#BearHat

I never knew!

In light of Groupon’s looming IPO (everybody’s doing it these days, apparently. See: LinkedIn, Pandora, Zynga) GOOD made a post with the video above showing a 2013 (but actually 2008) version of the quirky, smoker voiced, horseshoe headed Andrew Mason (now coupon king/CEO/shaggy headed bajillionaire of Groupon) explaining the workings of ThePoint.com.

The point of ThePoint, it explains, is to use collective power on a large scale to effect corporations that are hurting a cause you care deeply for (the example given is Paper Palace, who through the supply chain, ends up promoting rain forest degradation). ThePoint calculates at what point (how many people boycotting) Paper Palace would experience a significant drop in sales and would have to do something about it.

But why do that when you could flip it on its head and instead, shill out coupons to Paper Palace that become valid if that same collective number of people purchase it? I can’t say I blame him.

Thank goodness they kept the quirk though. Have you read a Groupon description lately? Almost as good as the background music in this video. Doo doo doo doo doooooo