Yes, as is the case in most references to this famous line from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, I have butchered the quote, but the sentiment is there (you can see the original quote here, and the Blazing Saddles rendition here). In fact, watching the famous scene on YouTube has prompted me to fill our lonely Netflix queue with some classics.

But seriously, I’m slowly getting over the novelty of earning badges. I mean, I did feel some satisfaction becoming the mayor of my son’s daycare, and overseeing the cleaners around the corner ensures that I always get my shirts back with no starch, but I’m ready for something tangible. Reward me for being a frequent customer and even more so, reward me for encouraging my friends to visit your shop more often.

Well, from the sound of this article on Mashable yesterday, brands are finally seeing the value in the location-based social networks. And the fact that they have created the “level up” concept so that you are rewarded for your extreme loyalty (St. Elmos, are you listening?) is outstanding. My only concern is that Brightkite, while an early leader in the geolocation services, has fallen way behind Foursquare and Gowalla in brand recognition. So, without the user clout, will the brands stay engaged? Or, will Foursquare follow Brightkite’s lead and encourage their brand partners to provide more value to their users?

As with all things, time will tell and I’ll be watching closely, hoping that perhaps I can score a free coffee or two, or if I’m lucky, perhaps a discount on daycare. Ok, now that’s just crazy.