My Biased Coin

If I were still a student I might hope that this will be a sort of "it gets worse before it gets better" moment, in that the faculty are the only party even theoretically capable of arresting Harvard's ethical and managerial decline. Experience indicates that having been blind for decades, they're unlikely to see the light now. The Harvard bureaucracy is big enough and old enough that its true purpose is itself. Only the faculty ever had the power to re-focus the bureaucracy's efforts on students and veritas. I wonder if they still have that power now.

Though TFA quotes several professors' criticisms of the administration's actions, I wonder how much of the issue they're really seeing. Mitzenmacher, for example, has in the past defended the Ad Board categorically. (e.g. http://mybiasedcoin.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-ad-board-harvard-centric-post.html ) Prof. Lewis, however, I find an inspiration in every sense: academic, moral, human, etc. I just have the feeling that he is a lone voice of decency in Cambridge.

Many people would disagree with you. Groupon has been shifty with their earnings and filings each time till now (e.g. http://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2011/11/22/history-repeating-itself-groupons-questionable-accounting-practices-are-nothing-new/), and currently being investigated for it (http://ansonalex.com/infographics/groupon-sec-fililing-and-investigation-information-infographic/). There have been various statements by former/current employees about inflating prices (http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-17/tech/30288824_1_sales-reps-groupon-inflation), and others that find negative Yelp effect from Groupon (http://mybiasedcoin.blogspot.com/2012/03/groupon-effect-on-yelp-ratings-guest.html), and businesses almost shut down as a result (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/groupon-bakery-102000-cupcakes)

One of the comments on the blog perfectly sums up what would have been my hypothesis, so I will simply repeat it here:

Part of the drop may be due to Groupon inducing
people to visit a business selling something
they otherwise wouldn't be interested in.
E.g., I might check out a Greek restaurant
even though I'm indifferent to Greek food because
of a good deal and curiosity. Given the same
experience as someone who likes the cuisine,
I might then give a lower rating.
- Anonymous

http://mybiasedcoin.blogspot.com/2012/03/groupon-effect-on-yelp-ratings-guest.html?showComment=1333075513809#c8753365250508256036