Universal Check-in App Confirmed: Brightkite’s Stealth Service CauseWorld CauseWorld: Checking in for Charity Facebook Facebook Announces “Deals” Program: Is This The Death Knell of Groupon And Foursquare? Topguest Nabs World’s 2nd Largest Hotel Chain Sick of Useless Badges and Mayorships? Only time will tell but you can help determine the success of your favorite application and future marketing trends by filling out the location-based marketing / application Location-Based Marketing/Application Survey. updates adds @TriOut and @Whrrl. MORE >>

Facebook Pages help brands, businesses, and public figures build a presence to connect with the people who like them on Facebook. Facebook has launched a redesigned Page Manager to make managing Pages easier and quicker. At the center of the new design is a single, left-hand navigation to access the different aspects of your Page, from applications to admins. Marketing Tab: Access useful information about promoting your Page with advertising, adding a badge, and incorporating a Like Box on your website. You no longer need to go to a different interface. MORE >>

Whether it’s big players like Foursquare inking a new loyalty rewards program with Pepsi, or niche developers like Untappd , addressing the beer drinking vertical with a mobile application that let’s you spread the word about the particular brew you are sipping upon, check-ins are on fire. In the interest of full disclosure, I work for a company with a new application called MOJO that provides free web-based check-ins. And it’s a lot more than just giving out some badges. Badging for the sake of badging is wasteful and annoying. Loyalty. MORE >>

With Facebook’s continued work with with their Places product (first the launch, now with Deals) the category has received even more exposure among users and business alike. This very application was executed to varying degrees of success by Sweet Leaf Tea , the New Jersey Net , and Chevy. Create a Custom Foursquare Badge. While not a tactic for every brand (word on the street is they’re prohibitively expensive for most) a creative, custom Foursquare badge could make some sense. Create Badge Gathering Events. Apps to use : Foursquare , Facebook Places. MORE >>

Proving yet again a real commitment to opening new avenues of success for online merchants everywhere, comparison shopping engine SortPrice.com has now built virtual stores for more than 1,000 retailers through its Merchant Store application on Facebook. SortPrice was one of the first to offer a virtual storefront for retailers on the Facebook Platform when it introduced the Merchant Store application a little over a year ago. “Having our SortPrice Facebook Store brought Equestrian Collections closer to our fans and helped make our 4th quarter a banner one.&#. MORE >>