Written by John Travis Holt, editor in chief | 01 March 2012

Another Groupon GRPN naysayer, not soothsayer. I can't figure out all this hatred of Groupon - sounds like a bunch of old men talking about the young people of today and how they will never make it with those fancy ideas, or a resentment towards young successful entrepreneurs.  Groupon doesn't destroy businesses, business owners do. The only sure thing in that equation is that they will inevitably blame some external factor, instead of taking responsibility for the choices they make. Bad choices which lead a business down the path of self destruction are most likely based on a get rich quick scheme and greed, instead of taking the time to build a quality product.

And for the competetors:  iTrackr is a joke, et. al. There is nothing in its database — it's just a graphic front end website on a tracking program for online ads. Sorry folks, but most small to mid-sized businesses are still not offering discounts online, go to their websites — only top retailers do. These small business don't even have the skills to manage their own websites. They are at the mercy of technocrats. Groupon is the future, so get with it and stop whining because you can't keep up — the good ole days are gone when you could rely on word of mouth to get you some ROI.

Businesses will have to advertise/build websites that ask for money with call to actions, etc. to survive in the new technology world or risk becoming invisible online.  Groupon brings them into this world head first - and no, they are not used to making sales and money, so they blame the guys who brought them the customers — absurd. Give Groupon a break, (GRPN). Yes, I own some and I'm holding them for the long haul. Bring it on competitors, we're not scared of you. iTrackr is nothing more than snake oil — for now they have nothing but a passive system of data collection for people who don't advertise online.

Time will tell. But I see people run iTrackr stock up today. Ask anyone with in 2 feet of you today if they use Groupon, they will say yes. It takes time to build a new industry and there are no get rich quick schemes, so get over it. Keep your money in Groupon, tried and true. Businesses will catch up - someday.

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