We were on the brink of launching our first hyperglobal deal (70% off a panculturally-designed spoon, flashlight, and sword combination guaranteed to solve at least one problem in any country), when our trusty mob of consumers spoke up with a better idea. As usual, we let the mob determine our business model, and so we’ve decided to pull a 540 (a 180 plus extra physical comedy) and instead go hyperlocal.
We begin today in Washington D.C. by expanding our coverage into Northern Virginia and Montgomery County. D.C. subscribers will be able to choose which region they would like to see as their main feature and the other nearby deals will be displayed less prominently in the daily email.
Eventually, we have grand plans to offer nanobiological deals, offering more deals inside your body, but first we we’ll rolling out regions for L.A., New York, Chicago, and some of the other places our largest consumer mobs call home. Once more areas are available in your city, you’ll be able to change your primary region at any time. With unbeatable deals even closer to home and multiple features in neighboring areas, Groupon will save you money on local activities and on the gas it takes to get there. That’s why we’ve offered celebrity Matthew McConnaughey to recite our new hyperlocal tagline “Groupon hyperlocal deals will save the economy, the environment, and you!” in an upcoming hyperlocal television commercial to air in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County as soon as McConnaughey can master the hyperlocal accents of those respected regions.
Today's Deal on 
Jamila
onJanuary 7, 2010 9:21 am
Why go out of your way exclude Prince George’s County? Sheesh.
fujifan
onJanuary 7, 2010 9:44 am
Because demographically speaking, more MoCoers are sitting at their computers during the work day thinking about whether or not to buy today’s groupon.
I suppose you could revise the category to “Metro Maryland,” but unless groupon is giving a discount on UMD classes, what are we going to do in PG county that we can’t do in MC with less likelihood of having our car or person vandalized?
I don’t mean it to be mean, it’s just statistics…
fujifan
onJanuary 7, 2010 9:46 am
Am I happy that most NoVa deals are in Alexandria and not Arlington? No, but I’m going to complain about it. Not every groupon is for everyone.
fujifan
onJanuary 7, 2010 9:52 am
SUGGESTION: It’s kind of hard to see the other local deals — they would be easier to see if they were formatted the same as the Side Deal. Otherwise they look way less important to the eye.
Aaron M
onJanuary 11, 2010 4:20 pm
THanks for going “hyperlocal” in LA. I bought my first deal today in the so-called Inland LA area.
Going even “more local” is a great idea, and I’d like to offer some suggestions for improvement.
First, we need to define the area that is now known as “Inland LA.” Whereas Orange County is a well-known and unambiguous geographical area, there is really no such area known as “Inland LA.”
When I first saw the entry, I assumed someone had a made a mistake and meant to write “Inland Empire.” But then I noticed that today’s deal was in Pasadena, which is much more geographically and culturally related to LA than it is to the Inland Empire. So then I assumed that “Inland LA” was someone’s attempt to define an area that would include the eastern part of San Gabriel Valley.
Anyway, bottom line: Pasadena deals should be included in the Los Angeles area, not any inland area.
I live in downtown LA, as centralized as one can be in the Southland. I live across the street from the birthplace from the city, yet Pasadena is much closer to LA than West Hollywood, Santa Monica, or Venice, even closer than west LA.
My suggestion is to let us LA users know what you intend to include in the “Inland LA” area, then seek our input on what best to call the area.
Also, since I would be more inclined to buy Groupons for deals in Pasadena than I would for deals in Santa Monica, I want to be able to see all the LA deals on one page.
Why not a simple three-column format — one column for each geographical area?
Thanks, Aaron
Andrew Mason
onJanuary 11, 2010 7:04 pm
Great feedback Aaron – thanks for taking the time. We’ll keep tweaking it!
Andrew
MegV
onJanuary 11, 2010 11:30 pm
@FIJIFAN- You know, it’s just that kind of ignorant attitude that perpetuates the myth by the rest of the country that Prince George’s County is a wasteland of ignorant, uneducated people incapable of holding a real “office job.” I can’t even tell you how insulted I was by your statements. At first I thought your comments actually came from GroupOn staff and my immediate thought was “Well you all just lost a customer for life!”
For your information, I grew up in Prince George’s County, and my grandparents, my parents, and my sister and her family still live in PG County. For your information, I used to work in PG County and now work in upper Montgomery County… and I was at a computer much more in my old job than my new one.
Ms. T
onJanuary 15, 2010 11:06 am
An Inland Empire Groupon would be great. San Bernardino/Riverside counties are the biggest in Ca. So it would be nice to have groupons less than 2 hours away.
Garza Girl
onJanuary 16, 2010 1:04 pm
I think you are dead-on with SoCal, especially. You’re going to target completely differently to Brentwoood/Westwood/Santa Monica than you are to West Hollywood/Enclino/Burbank.
Looking forward to seeing it in NorCal too: Los Gatos/Willow Glen/Campbell and Santa Clara/Cupertino/Sunnyvale, for example.
Loving the product so far. Would love to know your thoughts on mobile…
Cherie
onJanuary 25, 2010 8:47 am
Love the local spin and would even more so if you can branch out to HoCo Groupons for those of us who chose that MD county to live and work in. Don’t stop there though plenty of us prefer to go into Baltimore rather then DC. Bal’mor Groupons would be a hit also Hon!
Shawn Jenkins
onJanuary 30, 2010 8:18 am
I was kindly surprised when a chilly server at my 1st Groupon use warmed up to us in a gentrified Federal Hill bar when I mentioned we we’re visiting from Carroll (Cow) County. I use many “Weekly events” emails to decide on future outings, but yours has more value than most, but now that you’re going hyper-local consider those that’ll travel regionally for quality. A week ago a gal pal & I saw The Carolina Chocolate Drops in Annapolis & dined at the venue and the next a buddy & I saw Jars of Clay in Alexandria & hit Dr. Granville Moore’s for frites. “More choices, more better!” XM/Sirius Radio hosts Opie&Anthony
Marylander
onFebruary 9, 2010 7:08 am
Feeling slighted here in PG which has some of the best neighborhoods in the Washington Metro area (have you read the Washingtonian’s Best Places to Live issue??) Anyway, in looking at your map of the coverage area of the “Montgomery County” region, it appears that the region also includes other Maryland Counties…including Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, St. Mary’s, and Calvert. Why not call the hyperlocal region “Suburban Maryland”. It would feel less like you are focussing on one county, and more that you are highlighting all that this vast region has to offer!
Saabmom
onFebruary 11, 2010 5:34 am
Why ignore Prince George’s County? I am offended by the comment about UMD being the only venue that is safe! There are great places and convenient places to offer options, Was this possibly a racial or ethnic slur that Groupon agrees with?! I will go on FB and Twitter and let the whole world know that Groupon is racially and ethnically selective!!!!! Who are you catering to?
Saabmom
onFebruary 11, 2010 5:39 am
Fujifan-I worked in Mont. Cty for over 30 years and there was more vandalism in schools by MCPS not minority students and in school parking lots than in PG County schools. MCPS has a tight PR dept where they don’t let their craziness get into the WashPost. Also, look at the druggies and alcoholic kids in certain school clusters. Whose kids are running crazy in the malls in Mont. Cty?! Fujifan, you’re racist and biased! Get out of your world and broaden your world!
Marge Nichols
onFebruary 17, 2010 12:50 pm
Second the motion on putting Pasadena with Los Angeles! It really doesn’t belong with the San Bernardino/Riverside counties at all. For “sort of local” I’d use county lines, and within that go into hyperlocal areas, maybe using the neighborhood map that the LA Times developed for standardizing place references.
Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs
onFebruary 23, 2010 2:41 pm
Will there be a San Fernando grouping ? Thanks
jaynne Katherine Oliai
onFebruary 24, 2010 10:55 am
@ Jamila & Groupon: Is Prince George’s County actually being “excluded”, or is it being grouped within another local? Since I am not from that area, I would be interested in knowing this.
@ Saabmom and everybody else who INSTINCTIVELY throws in the racist card: STOP! Stop feeding into the idea that every opinion or comment has anything to do with race. Stop bullying people, companies, groups or any other rose by another name into constantly having to take time from the business at hand to defend themselves from the comments (see: free speech) of others. If you do not want to hear or read opinions of others, MOVE TO CHINA! But then again, there is no Facebook, My Space, Twitter or ANY OTHER free forum in China to cyber bully by, and I quote you, “go on and let the whole world know that Groupon is racially and ethnically selective”
Shannon
onMarch 1, 2010 9:39 am
Please, please…please branch out of Miami to include Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton ! Boca, where I live, is only 40 miles north…but we have so much in between that it’s not necessary to go into Miami very much. I believe you would get a tremendous response from expanding the Miami area ! Thanks.
Gail
onMarch 6, 2010 6:13 pm
In reading the comments I agree that the area where I live should be called the INLAND EMPIRE
Gail