Employment

Google launched its Groupon-killer, "Offers," in Portland, Oregon , about a month ago. And now it's gearing up to launch in San Francisco and New York . Could Offers become a massive new revenue stream for Google--the "second huge growth engine" that Google has long searched for in vain? Could Google's entry into the deals business clobber Groupon and other deal providers like Living Social? To begin to answer these questions, we spoke to representatives of merchants who have signed on to offer Google Offers in New York. We also spoke with Google's Eric Rosenblum, the lead engineer on Offers, and Google spokesperson Nate Tyler. And it turns out that Google Offers does have a few key advantages over other deal providers that could shake up the deals industry and force Groupon, at least, to change the terms of its deals . In other words, if Google makes a big commitment to the deals business--a big if--its entry into the market could hurt the businesses ...