
Wootpon Will Snub Google: Tech Edge
NEW YORK (
) -- Welcome to
Wootpon
, a crude invention of financial-news necessity. We'll pretend that Wootpon -- for one day only -- is part of the
social media/mobile/local e-commerce industry
.
This totally-fictional Wootpon exercise should in no way impinge on the good reputation of
Amazon's
(AMZN) - Get Report
Woot
, nor echo any of the mania surrounding its rival
Groupon
.
|
Unlike Groupon, Wootpon has not yet been approached by Net giants like
(GOOG) - Get Report
and
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
with boatloads of cash.
Wootpon is completely different.
For one, Wootpon is nothing more than seven letters typed in unique order to spell Wootpon. If Wootpon was more than a made-up device to exemplify the astonishing froth in the market, it would no doubt offer to e-mail to your mobile device the best deals of the moment and the location of your would-be purchase.
But be clear on this: Wootpon doesn't exist. Of course with a few enterprising staffers and a domain name, it could rock. But by its very non-existence, Wootpon sets its phony-self apart from the hundreds, maybe thousands of would-be rivals like Groupon, Woot,
LivingSocial
,
Milo.com
,
Coupons
,
Coupon Sherpa
,
8Coupons
,
CouponCabin
,
Signpost
,
ShopSavvy
,
CheckPoints
,
FatWallet
, etc.
After 42 minutes of running this allegory, it's clear even to the untrained eye that we may be in the middle of a social-shopping bubble.
Heated debates over whether Google's $6 billion reported offer for Groupon is
or
continue. But it's notable that Groupon's board meeting came and went Wednesday without an announcement.
It would only be fitting if Google's Groupon offer expired.
--Written by Scott Moritz in New York.>To contact this writer, click here: Scott Moritz, or email: scott.moritz@thestreet.com.To follow Scott on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/MoritzDispatch.>To send a tip, email: tips@thestreet.com.
Editor's note: "Tech Edge" is a blog written and compiled by Scott Moritz, TheStreet's senior tech correspondent. The blog explores behind-the-scenes tech news, rumors and reports that Wall Street folks are talking about.









