Facebook Deals

Deal sites are so hot right now. So hot, in fact, that even the world's most-used site can't resist their allure. Facebook recently announced its plans to expand its current Facebook Deals offerings to include local offers starting in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin.

Buy With Friends will work in conjunction with Facebook Places, allowing users to unlock deals at certain locations and then share them with friends. Apparently, Facebook's research has shown that users are more likely to purchase a deal if their friends do, which makes complete sense and clearly fits perfectly with Facebook's core functionality.

Users in the program's launch cities can expect to find deals in the coming weeks.

Foursquare launched pre-2010, but its wide adoption over the year and the emergence of many other location-based services signaled a huge trend in the making. Soon, even Facebook got into the game with Facebook Places, which quickly came under scrutiny for its privacy practices. While the services are generally safe to use, it's important to remember to monitor privacy settings to make certain you're only sharing information about your location with people you choose.

Deals
Once users were willing to share their whereabouts with friends and contacts, it wasn't long until retailers and other companies jumped into the mix, offering special deals for checking in or becoming the mayor of a certain location. Facebook Deals launched with partners like Gap and Virgin America, offering incentives to visit and check into stores. And after initially competing with other check in services, location-based deal app Loopt Star combined with Facebook Places, offering one unified map.

Location-based services also took advantage of the news, offering a little bit of humor amid the recent in-the-news rigors of airport security; Foursquare offers a Baggage Handler badge, and Loopt even launched a Touched by TSA giveaway to reward fliers for their cooperation with TSA authorities. Foursquare also took advantage of the recent elections, offering badges for voters, too.

And, just last week, one Foursquare superuser rigged his front door to open when he or his close friends checked into his apartment via Foursquare. Slightly extreme but kind of cool.

Find out what's next for location-based apps and services when you read more.

Gap is giving away 10,000 pairs of jeans today — and all you have to do is check into any Gap Men's or Women's store with Facebook Places for a chance to win! Following on the heels of the Facebook Deals announcement, this giveaway begins as stores open. To redeem your free pair, simply check in and show your phone to any Gap sales associate. According to the Facebook page, all stores are participating in the giveaway.

Gap posted details of the giveaway on its Facebook page and created a special events page dedicated to the in-store event that's worth a look if you're planning on trying to snag a pair since it includes official rules like, "Certain styles are not included in the offer."

If you miss out on the free pants, don't worry, you can still check in to receive a reward worth 40 percent off of your purchase.

Love Chipotle Mexican Grill? Then get excited for next year. Yesterday, Steve Ells, the company's founder, chairman, and co-CEO, revealed plans to debut a similar Asian fast-casual concept by the middle of 2011.

Although the company, which simultaneously announced plans to partner with Facebook Deals, wouldn't reveal details about the new fast-casual eatery, representatives did confirm that the menu will have a pricing structure similar to Chipotle's and follow the same focus on naturally and sustainably raised ingredients. The restaurant will open in one of approximately 40 existing Chipotle markets.

With the Mexican chain's future foray into Asian fast-casual food, maybe it's time it considered hopping on the Latin-Indian fusion bandwagon. What do you think of an Asian-themed Chipotle?

Source: Flickr User Mr. T in DC