LinkedIn, Pandora, Groupon, and Zynga are all big names on the modern web, and each has filed with the SEC to hold an IPO. But who are these giants? What do they do, and where do their profits come from.

www.linkedin.com

LinkedIn is the social network for business professionals. When users join they create a profile that summarizes their experiences and accomplishments. According to the LinkedIn website, it has more than 80 million members spread throughout 200 countries. However, unlike most social media platforms, members must know each other or …

What is Online Ore?
Online Ore is a new feature here at the Gold Mine, and one that has us all fired up.  Each week, on Monday morning we’ll be featuring a new site or service to improve the life or productivity of business owners or their employees.

Online or not, each of these nuggets is a tool that can be used to find value, joy, or efficiency, either inside the workplace or out of it.

So far we have featured

• Mint, a personal finance management site.
• …
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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 …