The old saying "location, location, location" seems to gain more relevance every week in the digital world and brands finally seem to be taking notice. The reason of course is that location-based ads can be incredibly relevant and effective. According to a study that was released earlier this week, about half of people using location services on their mobile phones respond to ads.

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Pepsi is joining the location revolution. As an early brand adopter of Foursquare, they have plans to continue with more programming in that space, along with a tie to a Pepsi rewards program called Pepsi Loot. Their aim is use Foursquare to drive consumers to nearby stores and restaurants that serve Pepsi products.

According to the New York Times:

"Being able to drive foot traffic into our restaurant partners and our retail partners is a huge opportunity, because that’s where our product is sold," said B. Bonin Bough, director of social and emerging media for PepsiCo. "Ten blocks mean a lot."

Once at a Pepsi-friendly spot, the Pepsi Loot tie-in will allow people to collect loyalty points that translate to things like free music downloads.

While the linkage of Foursquare to a loyalty program isn't new (Tasti D-Lite kicked one off earlier this year), it does mark big name brand adoption of the idea....

Suck-Squeeze-Bang-Blow these are the basic principles of how a jet engine operates. Throw in a bit of volcanic ash and you’ve got yourself a recipe for the worst thing to ever happen to the airline industry. The problem lies with the “squeeze-blow” part of the equation, when combustion happens if it is mixed with ash, that ash will melt due to the heat and then turn to glass causing the engine to seize. I understood the jet propulsion part of things, at least the basic concept, thanks to some of my aerospace engineering friends. What I didn’t know that the volcanic ash part of the problem would have a major impact on a recent trip to Europe.

18 months ago, when I set out to take my Mom to Paris for her 60th birthday, I never thought about how a volcano could snarl airline travel for an entire continent, with ripple effects for the whole world. Before April 15, 2010 I would have laughed if you told me that Eyjafjallajökull is the name of a volcano in Iceland, truth be told I still can’t pronounce it, but now I’ll never forget it. (I’ll take oddly named things for $1000, Alex).

Mashable recently wrote a great article about how stranded travelers turned to social media for information on what to do now that they were trapped trying to get out of Europe, travel within Europe, or...

Gizmodo shared some useful advice today on how to create a Coke bottle cheat sheet using common household items: Coke bottle (what else), glue stick, scissors, and a computer with a printer and scanner.

We don't of course advocate cheating but do appreciate interesting mashups. Instead of spending so much time coming up with a cheat sheet for your Coke bottle, perhaps this could be an interesting way to pass silly love notes among friends. Definitely a way to spread some happiness.

[Disclosure: Coca-Cola is a BFG client.]

Scott Stratten--marketing consultant, General Zod look-alike, and author of the book UNmarketing--outlines some best practices for developing a social media strategy and building an engaged audience. His presentation is couched in the context of the non-profit sector, but any organization would do well to heed Scott's advice.

What do a couple of BFG staffers think of the iPad after test driving it for a weekend? Watch and learn.