StatusUpdate
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Slack adds status messages, a feature it should have had on day one
After its meteoric rise to popularity, Slack has been slowly adding useful features to help keep fast-moving chatrooms from getting bogged down. Earlier this year, the company introduced much-needed threaded conversations and now Slack users can finally set an away message or status update so friends and coworkers no longer have to sit and wonder why it's taking so long to reply.
Hangouts for Gmail brings back the status update
Back when Google Talk ran Gmail-based chats, a handy custom status window made sure all your colleagues and pals knew what you were up to. When Hangouts took over, the tool fell by the wayside. Well, now it's back. Hangouts in Gmail allows you to deliver that info once more, just like you would on AIM or Facebook, complete with the appropriate (or inappropriate) emoji should the need arise. Of course, if you're looking to let folks know when you're busy, you'll need to make sure you've made the switch to the "new Hangouts" first.
LinkedIn status updates can now include photos, other types of files
Given how simple and common it is to do it on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, you'd think being able to share images as part of a status update wouldn't be anything novel at this point. But for those inhabiting the popular (and inspiring) social networking site LinkedIn, this hasn't exactly been the case -- and that's about to change. As of today, users are able to add a little more flavor to things shared on the site, with LinkedIn letting it be known that they can now easily enclose more than just text when using the share box. And while picture uploads are certainly all the buzz, LinkedIn's also making it possible to include other file types, such as documents and presentations. Currently, the new feature only allows uploads to be done via the desktop version of the website, however LinkedIn did tell CNET that the content "will be viewable inside the mobile apps."
Facebook testing 'highlight' feature, lets users pay $2 to promote their status updates
Finding ways to throw money at Mark Zuckerberg is notoriously difficult, but a new 'highlight' feature could be just the trick. Currently being tested with a small population of users, it allows an ordinary member to pay $2 to ensure that their latest status update crops up in more of their friends' news streams. Ordinarily, the degree to which a status update is streamed depends on the number of likes or comments it has, which ensures that users generally only see the juiciest gossip, but paying this little premium would cause Facebook's algorithms to distort that in your favor. In other words, it's money replacing popularity, or simply -- sigh -- life.
Man gets served on Facebook, literally
Being unceremoniously dumped online isn't the only indignation made easier by social networks. For the first time, lawyers in the UK have been granted permission to serve a legal suit via Facebook. Traditionally, documents must be delivered physically, be it in person, by post or even fax. But, in a pretrial for a commercial dispute, these old-fashioned methods proved fruitless. The prosecuting team then decided to check online, and noticed recent updates on defendant Fabio De Biase's profile. Satisfied it was currently active, they sought permission to send documents via the website, with Justice Nigel Teare duly obliging. Wondering what that noise is? That's the sound of millions of mice clicking on "privacy settings" all at once.
Facebook adds real-time 'ticker' to overhauled news feed, donates old layout to science (video)
Facebook is about to turn your social life into an online newspaper. That's the takeaway from a new slate of changes the company unveiled yesterday, ahead of its annual f8 developer conference in San Francisco. From now on, if you log in to Facebook after a lengthy hiatus, your news feed -- much like the front page of a daily paper -- will consist of a list of "top stories," photos and updates that were posted while you were away, with each high-priority item tagged with a blue earmark. More frequent users, on the other hand, will find a list of most recent stories presented in chronological order, along with larger photos embedded directly within their news feed. The company has also introduced a new "ticker" feature that provides users with real-time updates on their friends' activity, displayed along the right-hand side of the home page. Here, you'll find the exact same updates you'd see on a real-time news feed, with the crucial difference being that you'll be able to interact with each development without missing a beat. If you see that a friend comments on a cat video, for example, you'll be able to click that item in the ticker and add your two cents, without having to navigate away from the home screen. Facebook will likely provide more details on these new features at its f8 tomorrow, but you can find more information in the demo video, after the break.
Ping sneaks onto iPad
It's no iOS 4.2, but it's an interesting little update nonetheless -- through the magic of an iTunes backend overhaul, Ping has come to the iPad. Now, the untold millions who enjoy broadcasting that they've purchased an iTunes track can do so on a larger screen. Assuming, of course, that they didn't migrate their Ping experience to Twitter yesterday evening.
Cat@Log, the tiny Twitter box for tweety bird hunters
Your cat's Twitter account just got real, yo. With an embedded accelerometer, GPS and camera in a lightweight neck-mounted package, this "Cat@Log" can figure out what your feline friend is doing at any given moment, and automatically send status updates accordingly. Should Sony Computer Science Laboratories and the University of Tokyo ever commercialize the thing, we're sure they'll sell plenty -- but please don't try to friend us with one. Why? Um... we're allergic... to anthropomorphic social networking. Yes, that's it. Your cat? Cute as a button, we swear.
