Companies like Groupon can use twitter and the like to pump out masses of offers to huge groups, taking advantage of ridiculously fast scaling to become HUGE. Location-based applications like Foursquare, Gowalla and the rest have created a bridge between peoples movement, their custom and the chance to personalise services, deals and offers based on their habits and a GPS signal. Real-time, customised retailing is not that far away (shudder).

This is all great if a) you have a smartphone, b) you feel it’s worth it letting people know where you are 24/7 and c), all you do is shop. Read More…