Younger than a toddler & worth $6Billion???

Man, newspapers really should be kicking themselves.

Just hours after I wrote about the Deal of the Day mavens, Google announces an astronomical bid of $5.3 billion for the upstart Groupon and another $700k in incentives. According to analysts cited in a New York Times article,  the Chicago-based neophyte, is pulling in $500 million in revenue -- and achieving profitability. That is a staggering amount of revenue for a relatively simple business model. The company has about 3100 employees in 300 markets -- so do the math -- that's about 5-10 feet on the street selling online ads to all the little local spots that most likely can't afford to have its own Web presence.

That Google is interested in Groupon's connection to these micro-retailers is a no-brainer. For years Google has been trying to figure out how to get into the local market -- even trying to woo newspapers to virtually rent out their sales force to sell local ads. It was a bust. And of course it was!!!

Those of us in the industry assume every company is as digitally aware as we are. And that's hogwash.

When a small business is born -- it starts with an idea that is usually financed with a severance check.  Whether its a service or a retail shop -- unless those entrepreneurs have relatives that can provide HTML, graphics and editorial -- the Web offering is often anemic at best. In my opinion that is why Groupon is successful. They serve the low end of the market that the Clipper magazines and Weekly Shoppers do -- but via the Web. I don't know if it is part of its business model now -- but if I were Groupon, I would create a directory and let each of its customers keep the Web page created for them up on the Web for an annual fee. My bet is, this is likely the only (or at least the best) Web presence these small companies have.

Almost two years ago, I wrote about how newspapers are not serving this "down market." Dailies should have been all over this model -- and created it on their own! The Groupon/LivingSocial/TownHog template is staggeringly easy to build. Which is why some analysts are gagging on Google's gutty move. “A multibillion-dollar valuation for a company that is in a business with virtually no barriers to entry and is younger than my toddler is absurd,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research retail analyst, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday morning.

Low barrier to entry, younger than a toddler -- and raking in $500 million. And so why aren't newspapers doing this?? I know creating a directory of deals may not earn you a Pulitzer Prize -- but last I checked the old cash cow of Classifieds weren't so sexy either. And with the money coming in -- at least you could continue to afford the journalists.