unique myspace surveys

Deal-a-meal

Talk Gangbusters.

In January 2010, based in Washington DC LivingSocial had 33 employees and 120,000 members in six markets. By last month, those numbers had grown to 1,400 employees and 28 million members in 250 markets internationally.

In an average day, the company added six employees and an entirely new market - say, a New York neighborhood, or a metropolitan area. Each week he hosts about 1.5 million new members. According to the Director of Communications Mayor Griffin, LivingSocial is on track to book $ 1 billion in gross revenue in 2011.

And if you think it's basically meet Groupon. The Chicago-based leader in the collective buying launched in November 2008, and with a force of about 1,800 employees, currently operates in over 500 markets covering 46 countries and that of March, there were more than 70 million subscribers.

When Groupon filed paperwork earlier this month for an initial public offering, he showed in 2011 first quarter sales approaching $ 650 million. Although some analysts crying bullshit, the IPO itself may be worth $ 15 billion to 25 billion.

All this shows very clearly that the collective purchase is good for these companies, and popular with consumers. So one could extrapolate that the model must also be good for one of its top dealers bases: the restaurants.

But that's where the statistics turn difficult, evidence grows relative and subjective, and where business analysts, restaurateurs, journalists and public commentators have completed the datasphere of a heated debate.

That's also where this story, limited for digestibility to Groupon and LivingSocial and eateries (versus the oft-featured spas, photography studios and other merchants), seeks to find answers in our local market and beyond. Because really, how probable does it sound that a business with food costs beyond labor and overhead can turn a profit, or at least break even, when typically receiving 25 cents on the dollar with these collective coupons?

Unique

MySpace safety, 51 tips for teens and parents

MySpace For Dummies

Designing surveys, a guide to decisions and procedures

Stealing MySpace, the battle to control the most popular website in America