This week’s vein of online ore can be found at www.groupon.com

Groupon provides a service for vendors and customers alike, by making group discounts more accessible to the general public.  Every day Groupon offers a group discount in the form of a special coupon that only “activates” if enough people sign up to meet the requirements specified by the vendor.

For the consumer this means a chance at great discounts on wonderful services, a chance which improves when they tell their friends, but which comes with no risk if the offer falls through.

For the vendor, Groupon …