Facebook Deals Launched in San Diego

This week Facebook launched their new program in San Diego as one of five launch cities in response to Groupon’s success and Google Offers.

They’re calling it Facebook Deals, and its Groupon morphed with social networking. Not only are they launching heavily discounted deals at local businesses, they’re deals focus on promoting social interaction.

You won’t find deals for consumer goods like American Apparel or The Body Shop, but you will find deals for activities for two like kayaking or a dinner for two. One deal offered today in San Diego is two tickets to the Glee cast concert in the Valley View arena this May.

The deal is for two to make a date of it. Also, not all deals are necessarily discounts but rather new experiences normal people would not otherwise have access to such as a backstage pass to a Austin City Limits concerts, or a sleepover at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco for children.

Yyou are able to “like” a deal, and share it on your newsfeed that way you can find friends to participate in your deal more easily. There also is a “friend bonus” program that gives you an additional discount if someone in your social network buys the same deal as you. Right now the deals are only available in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco. This time last year, Facebook rival Twitter launched a similar program called Earlybird Offers but they canceled the program after just two months.

Facebook started giving “deals” out last November when they launched their Check-in Deals. Users would “check-in” on their mobile phones when arriving at certain businesses and receive discounts. The new deals program will have discounts that last anywhere from a day to a week.

Facebook will be bringing deals to more and more people than ever before. Groupon has 70 million members, Living Social has 28 million members and now Facebook’s 500 million users will soon be able to take advantage of discounts and more.

Check out your local deals today at the Facebook Deals page.

Tell us what you think? Are you going to buy tickets to see the cast of Glee?

Image from benstein via Flickr.