Groupon on Friday was rumored to have turned down a massive $6 billion buyout offer by Google, a bold move for the company that currently nets just $50 million per month.

The offer, according to Bloomberg, included $5.3 billion with a $700 million earnout.

So why the urge to stay independent? Some analyst numbers actually place the companies earnings at much higher numbers, with AllThingsD believing the company may generate $2 billion in yearly sales, rather than the recently reported $500 million figure. read more

Foursquare is great if you want to share your location with friends or let burglars know when you’re not home, but a TV show? That’s something I would never have thought, but apparently Endemol USA has and they are trying to figure out how to integrate the location based service into a new TV show they are currently developing.

Endemol has even went so far as to receive an exclusive development deal which will allow them to create the show.

According to Variety, the show will have “an “Amazing Race”-style competitive element, in which participants travel to various sites.”

With 5 million users already checking in with Foursquare an audience is definitely available and it could lend itself to a “play at home” vibe which could add to the excitement for the show. read more

After receiving numerous requests from geeks, fans and folks in love with all things WordPress, Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com) has finally relaunched their official swag store.

Welcome to the new swag store! It’s not fancy right now, but rather than make you wait for bells and whistles, we wanted to get it up and running as soon as possible, since people have been asking when they can buy sweatshirts for holiday gifts.

Why are we selling this stuff? First, because we love WordPress and we like having this stuff ourselves so we can show the world and spread the word. Second, because we send a lot of free swag to WordCamps and meetups around the world, which adds up. If this store winds up making a profit, it will help to offset the costs of those donations. (WordPress Swag Store)

Although swag stores may seem trivial to some, they are in fact a great way for companies to market their brand in the physical world without spending money on ads or depending upon media outlets for mentions.

Users can buy hoodies, t-shirts, fleece jackets, iPhone stickers and yes, even a mug (which Lorelle of WP fame seems to love) for relatively inexpensive prices (at least if you live within the US).

Unfortunately there isn’t any VaultPress wearables available (so yours truly will not be able to pick up a special hoodie before the holidays), although hopefully Automattic will consider expanding their lineup to include other products in the future.

As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, or in the case of Gowalla vs. Foursquare, if you can’t beat ‘em, integrate your location based services with them. Gowalla’s newest update gives users the ability to share check-in information with Foursquare.

The feature joins the applications ability to share locations with Facebook and Twitter users, providing friends with your location based info on various GPS enabled devices including tablets, mobile phones and other portable electronics that support Gowalla services.

The update, called Gowalla 3 adds what the company is referring to as a “universal activity feed” which shows a users friends check-ins on the Gowalla service, along with Facebook Places, Tumblr and Foursquare. Users retain the ability to choose what sites receive their updates and what services they receive information from.

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StumbleUpon has announced that they are preparing “StumbleUpon Pro,” (tentatively named) new user accounts which will launch at the start of 2011.

According to StumbleUpon, users will be able to create their own content, while suggesting other content from the web.

The StumbleUpon team say the new feature falls somewhere in-between a paid content provider account and a regular user account.

They explained to Mashable that:

A pro account would essentially work the same way a verified account on Twitter does, giving the publication/company/business a level of legitimacy and authority that will entice regular StumbleUpon denizens to follow it.

StumbeUpon employees are still unsure exactly how Pro accounts will be labeled on the website, but they do note that the content would be targeted to more effectively reach users who would be more likely to follow each company.

The good news? It may be free to use, with the ability to pay for better site placement, which makes for a more level playing field for more company’s. read more

It looks like Christmas has come early for Android fans, as the search engine giant has announced that there is now an official Android app for Google Reader fans.

It’s been a long time coming, but the official Google Reader app for Android is finally here. Let’s jump into the features, shall we?

The app supports all the basics you’d expect like unread counts, friends, sharing, liking, and starring, but it also has a whole lot more, including:

Multiple accounts
Synced preferences
Full subscription features (subscribe and search from your phone)
Search (Official Google Reader Blog)

The official Google Reader app for Android apparently supports most (if not all) of the features that made the desktop version of Google Reader famous, including the ability to share to social networks (such as Facebook and Twitter).

Despite boasting a powerful web app, Google’s entrance upon Android is potentially making a few iPhone developers (like Byline and Reeder) nervous, as it probably is only a matter of time before iOS fans receive something similar for their devices.

Do you have an Android device? What are your thoughts regarding Google’s latest app?