I remember the good old days when Schnäppchenfreitag meant something. It wasn't just another day in a long series of days promising super extra awesome special bargains. It was a science. It was a sporting event. There really were deals to be found and it required careful planning and precision strategy...and warm clothes and lots of coffee.

But, Schnäppchenfreitag has been hijacked. Retailers continue to one-up each other with earlier and earlier "Schnäppchenfreitag" sales launches that now encroach on Thanksgiving Thursday. Then they added Cyber Monday, and retailers started having weekend sales every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas with ever-escalating deals.

Last year, American Express launched its own holiday season bargain day targeting local small businesses. Small Business Saturday is the day after Schnäppchenfreitag and is designed to help independently-owned businesses in this tough economy.

This year Google, Facebook, and Twitter are jumping on board to support Small Business Saturday with small businesses can use to promote their deals online across the . Interested businesses can get more information and promotional tools by visiting and "Liking" .

Small Business Saturday might be too little, too late, though. In a recent survey, 38 percent of small business owners stated that we are , and many feel we are at risk of reversing course and entering a double-dip recession. With the weak economy and high unemployment, retailers will have to fight hard for every dollar of holiday spending money they can get.