No one likes to be alone.
The powers behind Facebook have been monitoring our constant stream of nonsensical status updates, and they see that we hate to do things by ourselves. Does anyone care about what salad we ate for lunch? No. So why do we write about it? We’re hoping that someone is sharing the minutia of our day, even if it is across a broadband connection.
Using that knowledge, Facebook is revamping their Deals program to give their users an excuse to experience human contact. In addition to continuing to offer location-based discounts similar to Foursquare’s Special Deals, Facebook will now offer deals on shared activities.
“The whole point of putting deals on Facebook is to get people to do things with their friends,” a source with the company tells Techland. “It’s all social. We’ll have a lot of deals that are more experiences than anything else.”
The typical Groupon and Living Social coupon offers $10 off a $20 gift certificate to a retailer or $25 off a $50 voucher for a restaurant. Facebook Deals will offer one-of-a-kind opportunities like a private tasting menu for your party or a city tour for you and your five friends. Don’t look for a free pair of Gap jeans. Instead, you’ll find coupons for a private cooking class for you and your buddies.
The source says they’re still working out the payment system. (For example, for you to purchase a Deal, will you need to find five friends who agree to embark on this adventure with you first?) What they do know is Facebook will offer their own set of exclusive offers and some of the discounts featured on Gilt City, Home Run, OpenTable, Pop Sugar City, Tippr, KGB Deals, Plum District, Reach Local and Zozi.
The program is expected to launch in the upcoming weeks, starting in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin. (Only one city per user, please. ) Facebook sales team is focusing on selling the idea to local businesses in each city, and Facebook Deals will likely not feature national offers.