Black Friday will soon be upon us and if you're one of the millions of folks who participate in the lunacy tradition that Black Friday shopping has become, you might want to check out Foursquare's #BlackFriday Survival Guide. It contains a number of tips and tricks for finding friends, food, and Foursquare Specials amidst the chaos and confusion euphoria of mass commerce.

Oh yeah, and did I mention there's an infographic? (FTW!)

Here's an interesting development in the world of mobile-location-based-gamification-app-thingamajiggies. Yesterday, Foursquare announced that it is partnering with American Express and select merchants nationwide to save you a few of those hard earned dollars. Foursquare explains it this way:

Across the whole country, at select merchants, you can now check-in with foursquare, pay with your American Express card, and get big savings on your monthly statement.

It’s simple to use:

Clipping coupons is so 2008. In the future, all the cool kids (and best brands) will make earning/redeeming loyalty rewards this easy. How could you simplify—or even automate—loyalty rewards and coupons for your customers?

Go forth now into all the world, checking in and saving money as you go.

[caption id="attachment_3407" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Image via Foursquare"][/caption]

Old and new marketing techniques combine in this innovative out of home installation from German dog food manufacturer, GranataPet. Simply use foursquare to check-in to the billboard and a tasty treat is dispensed for your faithful four-legged friend. Instant gratification for both you and your pooch!

The installation was powered by a simple integration with the foursquare API. A check-in at the billboard signaled a small block box to dispense a treat into a bowl.

This a pretty ingenious way to do sampling. I can imagine installations like these dispensing samples of hand sanitizer on the other side of airport security or sunscreen samples near the beach. Think about it.

April 16th, tomorrow for those of you who are lost in Tax Day, is Foursquare Day. Why 4/16? Because 4 squared equals 16...I love a little math geekery, though I'm partial to Pi Day (3/14).

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, Foursquare Day was largely created by the people and not Foursquare itself, though they have since embraced it. The goal of the day is to get Foursquare users to interact with each other at the local level. What this means is that many businesses are offering one day only, check-in specials on 4/16. On the larger scale some cities have even organized Foursquare events for their community. The fun thing is that these events are happening all across the globe, so chances are you might live near one.

Like it or not, location based apps are here to say. Why not use Foursquare Day as an excuse to embrace it and maybe cash in on a discount or two.