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Arts & Entertainment

Groupon Helps You Buy Sh*t You Don't Need With Clicky, The "Value Wheel"


By

Christopher Robbins

Published Mar 11, 2012

Modified Mar 11, 2012


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By

Christopher Robbins

Published Mar 11, 2012

Modified Mar 11, 2012


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Surprise: using "zany" internet deal services like Groupon leads to eating in restaurants you don't even like and doing stuff (discount colon cleansing anyone?) you never wanted to do in the first place. Americans are preconditioned to snatch up a deal, no matter how pointless. But in browsing Groupon's site for some answers we stumbled upon Clicky, the "Value Wheel," that could score you as little as $5 and as much as $100 in savings off already rock-bottom Groupon deals. The catch? Groupon gets the keys to your identity. Gotta love those 1:1000 odds!

Rolled out in January, Clicky is a "marketing instrument" that ranks along the Congratulations You Won! guy and the Single Mom Makes $500 An Hour ploy. We enjoy a good click ourselves, and attempted to give Clicky what his wet, nauseating eyes (that's so "zany!") clearly wanted, when we received this prompt from Facebook.

Sure you can spin for savings, but may Clicky first

31112groupon1.jpg

Does Clicky also want to use its lubricated, titanium arms to give us a lye bath and shove us into a time machine so that we can watch it impregnate our mother with spa discounts and free desserts and look on as our family rears Chrissy, the deal-spewing automat they always wanted?

We debated submitting to Clicky's advances for journamalism, but decided to go with the Thai lunch special we saw on a chalkboard, outside, walking on the sidewalk.

Tagged

clicky

consumerism

deals

facebook

groupon

identity theft

time machines

zany


Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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