- Big news story of the day: Groupon’s IPO launch. It was the biggest IPO launch after Google went public in 2004. The company has raised a staggering $700M in financing and is leading the charge in the daily-deals space. It’s been a success, with the stock closing at $26.11 – 31% above its offer price of $20. The champagne is out, and so are the hopes of the tech industry.
- Tricia Duryee of All Things D asks: are we fussing too much over the Groupon IPO? As she notes, Groupon has sold just 35 million shares – just around 5% of the total outstanding. Further, the IPO is just a financing event; what’ll be crucial is whether Groupon can maintain steam in a disagreeable business environment and falling market share.
- Scott Kessler, head of the technology equity research at S&P, isn’t too sure what effect Groupon will have on tech IPOs in the near future. Remember that Living Social, Groupon’s chief competitor, has registered massive growth in the past few months and is inching closer to Groupon’s spot as the industry leader. A solid Groupon outing will definitely have an impact on Living Social’s IPO ambitions, if nothing else.
- Even as Groupon closed 31% above its offer price, LinkedIn, the other big tech IPO, registered a 6% loss, its shares falling $5.13 after a dismal third quarter that ended with a $1.6M loss. Bittersweet, shall we say?
- Moving on from boring numbers, here’s something that should excite your inner geek: ThinkGeek’s $1000 shopping spree offer. Just register yourself online and if you’re lucky, you might just be able to afford every lava lamp available on the site.
- The Angry Hitler meme refuses to get old. Here, the Fuhrer is furious because the Google reader blows. Which is an understandable reaction for any rational adult who’s come to love and depend on a long time partner.
- Speaking of Hitler, here’s a product old Ado would probably love, or at least it’s name: WhiteyPaint. Perhaps they could’ve consulted the Yo, Is This Racist guy before christening it.
- Now that the Fuhrer has already registered his anger with the new Google Reader re-design, may we suggest some alternatives? CNET has a nice list.
- Speaking of bad design, here’s a handy list of the world’s 8 worst fonts, including the dreaded Papyrus, and the 2012 London Olympics font. What’s missing: Comic fucking Sans.
- And before we depart, here’s a new way to surf the internet’s favorite site: Scrolledit.
