Around Town 8

18th St NW.



Somehow one of the only music stores in DC proper. Never been in.





Row houses are one of the best things about city architecture.









Cresting the hill.



AdMo.



Well, nationally, yes.



Here 18th St ends for a few blocks. It was really hot out so I called it good.

Bonus pictures:



The startling beauty of Columbidae.



This kid had the right idea. I had the second best idea when I got frozen yogurt.



I think they were exaggerating slightly, but only slightly.

Grilling

The only thing to keep you sane when DC spring feels like DC summer.

Don't Mess With The District

Great interview with 5 year-old Alycea over at
People's District:

“My name is Alycea. I am five-years-old and I go to elementary school. I like school because we learn about math and can dance during music time. We also learn about stuff in the world. Did you know that there were earthquakes in Haiti and Japan?

“I have never been to an earthquake before, but I learned that they happen when the earth breaks apart and things start shaking. We also learned about the tornadoes in Alabama. I have never been to a tornado either. I guess that all of those things happen far away from Washington.

“That’s good because it would make the children here scared. Did you know that we have lots of buildings in Washington? One of those buildings is my home and one is your home. The president also lives here with some other famous people. If those buildings fell down, we would all be in big trouble. That’s why I don’t want to go to Haiti or Japan. I just want to go to my grandma’s house and cook pizza and cake. Those are my favorite foods.

“I want to tell all of the kids in Washington not to worry about tornadoes and earthquakes because if they come here, I will punch them in the face. I will punch them and then step on them so they won’t knock our buildings down.”

“Now can I ask you some questions? Have you ever seen an orangutan eat his own poop at the zoo? Have you ever had a baby in your stomach? Have you ever put cake on your pizza?”

Unfortunately, no to all three.

Groupon

Harvard Business Review has an interesting article by Joshua Gans about Groupon:

Here's my hypothesis about Groupon's success. It exploits a limitation faced by many consumers: their memory.

I think his hypothesis is wrong. Groupon isn't mostly about memory. It's about aggregating a wide variety of coupons that feature, usually, a very steep discount. Before Groupon, it certainly was harder to collect coupons, but doing so was also much less valuable. Saving $0.50 on my next loaf of bread is not in the same category as 50% off a flying lesson (so much looking forward to using that this summer). The Groupon model works not because it's a memory aid, because it's not a very good one. It works because the service it offers is easy, valuable, and exciting.

With that said, I agree completely that Groupon has a tough road ahead if it wants to remain king of the mountain. It would be nearly impossible for Groupon to continue to enjoy its healthy market share as more competitors get into the mix and as innovation slows down (although Groupon Now! will be interesting to follow, it won't take long for competitors to catch up). I'm sure I'm suffering from lack of imagination, but how much more can they really shake up the coupon market before the playing field levels? LivingSocial is already, anecdotally, gaining ground in DC with its instant deals, practically ideal for the working professional's lunch hour.

But right now, there is one issue on which every economist I know of actually agrees (and in an unqualified way): that Groupon (a) should have accepted the purported $6 billion bid from Google when it had the chance; (b) that Google was insane to have offered it; and (c) that Groupon is pretty much doomed or, at least, will have fleeting glory.

In the end, I think Groupon will face many of the same challenges as Netflix. Although they have a good head start, there are many companies who want a piece of the pie and who can mobilize lots of capital against you.

How much does first-to-market matter for internet companies? Unless you're offering something substantially different from your competitors (Groupon and Netflix are not), about all you have to bank on are ease of use and customer base. If I were Groupon, I'd be very afraid that Google and Facebook want to move into my territory with their already established customer base. Likewise, if I were Netflix, I would be scratching my head hard to figure out how to differentiate my product from Amazon, iTunes, or cable.

So, Groupon, I hope you feel secure turning down the $6 billion bid. Best of luck. From Google's perspective, I have a hard time believing that it would cost them more than $6 billion to establish a superb competitor, especially considering that audience capture is already in the bag.

A longer-term question will be whether "coupon fatigue" sets in. With people like Seth Priesbatsch and others looking to expand this world even further, I can't say I'm looking forward to a time when if you're not getting an automatic 70% off a purchase, it doesn't feel worth it.

Spring Regatta

Beautiful Saturday for a sail out of Annapolis.



Nine J/30s total.



Racing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was pretty cool.



Driving over it, it's harder to get a sense at just how big it is.



God, instead of bringing the Rapture, decided to advertise Geico insurance. He also kept me from getting too sunburned, except for an irregular patch on the top of my foot. I'll allow it.

Recession Sessions

The album is live. Help us support the Somerville Homeless Coalition through the magic of financial folk.

Osama

I did not anticipate my Sunday night to involve celebratory bourbon or a late-night bike ride down to the White House. I grabbed my camera but, of course, left the memory card in my laptop, so I had to make do with my phone.



Indeed, sir.



One guy climbed a street lamp to drape a flag over it. It seemed like everyone was waiting around for something without being sure what that something was. At a certain level, a crowd will enjoy a positive feedback loop (I came down, didn't I?), whether there's a real reason to congregate or not, I suppose. It is a little strange to be cheering the death of one, mostly marginalized man, but people will be people.

Anyway, it's pretty impressive that this whole operation successfully remained a secret. Look at Gates's and Obama's faces after the Osama joke, around 0:30. They must have been pissing themselves.