Now Deals

[Laurelhurst]

I've seen messages that the Now Deals Api is in the works, and I
notice that the deals results contain a field called "isNowDeal".
However, none of the deals being returned are actually "Now" deals,
although this indicates it's still in the works. Is there any update
on the status of being able to retrieve "Now" deals?

[Alex Rakoczy]

Hey Laurel,

Thank you for your interest. Now deals are not currently available via the API, and there isn't a plan to release them via the API in the near future.

Kind Regards,

Alex

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[Robert Lawson]

What exactly is it that is expected from developers?! Such limited
control/functionality, limited integration, and poor documentation of
how to get this thing to work, and yet its expected that people invest
time and money in developing apps that really can't be any different
than the app that Groupon has created--ah, but don't forget, those
apps created by developers must, in nature, be unique. You guys need
to do better.

How about rethinking the goals of releasing this API. If you want to
create a community that innovates new ways to sell Groupon deals you
need to give them the tools to do so, that means getting as detailed
in the control of the data as possible. Groupon can still maintain
branding and data requirements (not storing user data) even while
allowing developers to have full control over what information is
presented to the end user.

In short, do you think the Android Market or iPhone App Store would be
as large as they were if they only allowed limited functionality of
what apps could do? No! They broke down every wall and made a
completely open landscape for people to create in. I advise Groupon
does the same. Its not like competitors are SLOWING down, is it?

[Laurelhurst]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for responding to my question, but I must wholeheartedly agree
with Robert’s critique of Groupon’s policy. Offering an API that
excludes important functionality is insulting to the developer
community and contrary to Groupon’s long-term business interests. I
can appreciate that by keeping certain functionality exclusively for
its own website, Groupon is attempting to dig moats in the inherently
moatless business of selling coupons, but I assure you that it is a
losing strategy.

First, with regard to the specific topic of Now Deals, the marketplace
is overflowing with deal sites, and there is nothing particularly
novel or difficult to imitate about Now Deals. Soon enough,
comparable “instant deals” will be everywhere. The only question is
how much of the market Groupon will reach. By fostering a robust
developer community, Groupon can leverage the creativity, programming
acumen, and marketing skills of literally thousands of entrepreneurs
and hobbyists—most of whom are intensely loyal to partners who provide
them with quality data. Alternatively, by shunning developers in the
instant deals space, Groupon leaves itself vulnerable to competitors
that respect the power of the development community.

Moreover, it is irreconcilable with common sense that Groupon spent
nearly $800 million in marketing during 2011, yet it chooses to watch
this potentially vibrant marketing channel lie fallow. Would Groupon
rather pay for advertising than have its deals featured for free on
innovative applications?

If Groupon believes that its stronger position in the instant deals
space merits lower affiliate commissions, then offer lower affiliate
commissions on these types of deals… but don’t throw the baby out with
the bathwater by shutting out the developer community entirely.

This leads me to the most important point in this rant. It may seem
from Groupon’s perspective that suppressing Now Deals here -- or
adding an onerous condition there – is at most a nuisance to
developers, and in any case reversible at some point in the future.
The flaw in that logic is that it fails to realize that developers
have memories, and API providers have reputations in the developer
community. Just today, a friend of mine who happens to be a prolific
app builder told me that he plans to exclude Groupon entirely from his
latest viral application because, in his words, “there’s nothing worse
than working with a company that wastes your time.”

In short, the moat that Groupon thinks it’s digging by inhibiting a
robust developer community will be its own grave – nestled somewhere
between pets.com and the pet rock.

Spare us a corporate boilerplate response and just make the
intelligent business decision by undoing this myopic, protectionist
policy, NOW.

Thank you.

[Robert Lawson]

Laurel I think that deserves a "BAZINGA"

[Alex Rakoczy]

Hi Robert and Laurel,

Thank you so much for the feedback! It's awesome developers like you that we're targeting for our public API.

We want you developers to be making awesome apps just as much as we want to get more Now! deals exposed!  All of your comments are taken into consideration, and believe me, I'm excited to get the Now! API exposed. 

It's not a matter of "if" for exposing our Now! deals API, it's a matter of "when". There's some really intense performance considerations in the Now! deals API that we have to take into account before exposing it.

As far as other interesting data goes, we're working hard from the engineering side to get that exposed too. There are a few things we have to consider before exposing an authenticated API to other actions people have been interested in (purchased groupons, redemption, etc.), and of course nothing is more important to us than protecting our user's data.

You're talking to a real API engineer here, not a marketing or business person telling you "no" for no reason. We know you developers are out there, and that's why we work hard to get you a fast response on this forum.

Here's some stuff you can look forward to in the near future though:

- A faster API (this is what is hogging most of our time right now)

- Filtering deals in the API by category so you don't have to do it client-side

- More images per deal for the deals that have them, like Getaways

- Well defined views so you can decide much easier which of the many fields to ask for

Longer Term:

- Now! API

- Authenticated resources (groupons, redemption, VIP deals)

Again, thanks so much for creating awesome applications against the Groupon API, and know that we're working hard on performance first, and will be giving you the tools you need to do interesting things.

Your API engineer,

Alex

[Robert Lawson]

I think the near term goals are off.

Faster API? In most cases the data will probably be loading at the
time the app is opened, meaning it doesn't need to dynamically
update... you guys aren't quoting stock prices, just serve the deals.
So I don't know exactly what you mean by slow and trying to improve
those speeds, but this is certainly a case of the hare and tortoise.

Filtering deals by category is a good mroe.

More images? I'm sure you've heard of data overload, more images just
complicates thing and is another level of complexity. Most of us just
want to be able to get a good, easy to use, powerful tool out. We
don't need to serve a gallery of beaches, we just want the one image
that will make a sell.

Defined views is a good one.

Why is Now! API long term? Kill the speed development for now and
focus on that since there is such an obvious demand for it? That's
like going to a car dealership and being told the fastest car in the
world is coming, but you'll just have to wait until we feel like
selling it. What will the buyer do? Go buy the 2nd fastest car! Is
LivingSocial developing an API right now? I wonder...

Authenticated Resources... read the above paragraph.


Like I said, DO BETTER

> >http://www.groupon.com/pages/api- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Alex Rakoczy]

On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 05:46, Robert Lawson <robert...@gmail.com> wrote:

Like I said, DO BETTER

OK