I’ve got some awesome news for those of you who just picked up your new BlackBerry Z10 in the US and for you old pros around the globe. Facebook and Twitter have been updated for BlackBerry 10. What I love, is that with each update, we’ve added some new features that make it easier for you to stay connected and do more with social media on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Check out each section below for a summary of new features and improvements and be sure to swing by the BlackBerry World storefront where each of these updates are available as a free download.

Facebook version 10.0.1 New Features

• Friends Nearby – Now, Facebook for BlackBerry 10 allows you to discover if your Facebook friends are nearby. You’ll be able to see when they’ve checked in on Facebook to a location that’s close to where you are.
• Photo Updates – There are new ways of interacting with your Facebook photos. Now you can now easily add photo tags to a photo you’re uploading within the Facebook application. Plus if you like that photo or funny picture your friend just shared on Facebook, you now have the ability save Facebook photos locally on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
• Events – This improvement is designed to make it even easier to plan and keep track of your events. You can now view and respond to events, invite your friends to attend, create and view posts on the event wall, post photos, and even tag guests.
• Sharing – Sharing information is at the core of BlackBerry 10 and now it easier than ever to share what matters to you with all of your contacts. Using the BlackBerry 10 share framework, you can now easily share links from your Facebook newsfeed to BBM, email, SMS, Facebook Twitter, and others.

Twitter version 10.0.2 New Features

• Your Connect Tab – View all interactions in one place, including new follows, favorites and mentions.
• Enjoy More Content – Take a look at photos, article summaries and other updates within your Tweets.
• Added Perspective – See the number of times a Tweet has been favorited.

Check out these updates now and get tweeting, liking and sharing on your BlackBerry Z10.

Download Facebook for BlackBerry 10

Download Twitter for BlackBerry 10

Please note the app may take up to 24 hours to appear in the BlackBerry World Storefront.

The modern BlackBerry device user is faced with a very difficult decision: selecting the perfect photo to become their BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) avatar. Sure, it seems easy. The Time Shift Camera on the BlackBerry Z10 is perfect for grabbing that perfect new selfie. For those of you who aren’t shutterbugs, there’s always that family member who constantly sends you awkward photos from the last get-together, and the Facebook app is your gateway to even more options. With all these options, why is choosing one photo so hard?

I toyed with the idea of uploading a photo of myself for quite some time. On the one hand, it would allow my friends to feel like they could really connect with me, since they would see my face as they typed. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure if a solo shot looked self-aggrandizing. So, I scanned through my contact list to see what avatars my friends, family and colleagues chose. The results were fairly consistent – roughly the same number of professional headshots, fun party photos, images of children and loved ones, and cool products/gadgets that people wanted to buy.

But what is the message you want to convey with your avatar? Of course, it’s not just an image you’re uploading; it’s a way to set the stage for your conversations. Team BlackBerry, tell us: how did you choose your BBM Avatar?

* Image has been altered to remove BBM screen names

Even though BlackBerry 10 has launched, there are a lot of you out there looking for BlackBerry 7 OS tips. Today we’ve got tips for the Social Feeds app. How do you get your news? We’ve looked at people who get their news via their BlackBerry devices, but what about social networks? What’s the first thing you do when a huge news story breaks? For me, I check the RSS Feeds tab on my Social Feeds app and then tab over to see what the reaction is on Twitter and Facebook.

The Social Feeds App is like a Puppy

Available on BlackBerry 6 OS devices and later, the Social Feeds app does a great job of giving you a view of what’s happening in the world via RSS, social networks, and podcasts. Over on the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog, Ty has a solid blog post on how to set up Social Feeds, but I want to focus on how you can train it for maximum awesomeness — just like a puppy.

• Stay: The Flagged Items feature lets you save an update or feed for viewing later. Facebook feed tells you it’s your anniversary? Flag it so you can remember to pick up a gift, or else prepare to download the “I’m sorry” app.
• Fetch: Filter results based on very specific keywords (“Walnut double-chocolate brownies” instead of “brownies”) for smarter results. Since you can search across all feeds, it saves a ton of time over searching Facebook or Twitter individually.
• Roll Over: Social Feeds also allows you to login to bit.ly to shorten links on the fly. Business users that rely on bit.ly for analytics will find this feature especially helpful.
• Lay Down: Click the “Do not show here” button on any feed you’re not using to make it faster to swipe across the social landscape. This is your Social Feeds puppy; take out the stuff you’re not using.

I’m hoping that these quick training tips will help speed up your use of Social Feeds, or at least provide you with the inspiration to share your Social Feeds power tips in the comments below. Mmm, walnut double-chocolate brownies.

I’m a sports fanatic, and over the past few years I’ve noticed there’s a new game in sports. Sports teams, organizations, athletes, and even fantasy leagues are all online, using social media, chat forums, websites and more to captivate fans before, during and after games. If thumb typing were a sport, I’m pretty sure I could be the champion.

With football season in full swing both in North America and abroad, I’m amazed to see how fans interact with their favorite teams and players on social media. Want to check the score of the latest match? There are many sports apps that can help you out, but some might find it more useful to check Twitter® or Facebook®, for color commentary from passionate likeminded fans. You can also become a real armchair coach by tweeting with individual players to comment on that beauty touchdown, or to chirp that dreadful botched pass. Football is far from the only sport to go social – we’re seeing it everywhere:

• Throughout last baseball season, BlackBerry ® sponsored the Blue Jays BlackBerry Tweeting Tuesday program, where fans submit photos and explain why they should be called “Fan of the Game.” Not only does the winner receive digital glory, but they are highlighted on Canadian national TV after the game.
• Many consider World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE®), to be the Holy Grail for fan engagement. With more than 115 million followers across its social media channels – 10 million fans on Facebook alone – it has as firm a hold on its digital fanbase as its players do on their opponents.
• FOX Sports™ hired eight full-time employees dedicated to social media during NFL games this season. Whether good or bad, if an athlete tweets it, Fox knows about it. It certainly proved effective during the widely discussed substitute referee incidents early in the season.
• Trade Deadline Day in the National Hockey League has been changed forever because of social media updates about trades. (Remember the NHL?)
• We even got to see which Major League Baseball team won the World Series according to Twitter.

Using social media applications on your BlackBerry device allows you to not only follow, but also to engage with your favorite teams and athletes. Which teams and players are you following? Do you have any tricks on engaging with them on your BlackBerry device? Let us know in the comment section below.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Do you use Facebook for BlackBerry? Do you like what we’re working on for BlackBerry 10? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Refreshed icons with a personalized touch

One of the first differences you’ll notice in the upgraded version is updated icons. The cool feature of note here is the personalized touch, as the generic profile icon has been replaced with your most current Facebook profile picture.

Never miss another friend’s birthday with enhanced birthday alerts

Facebook for BlackBerry v3.2 allows you to integrate the birthdays of your Facebook friends into your BlackBerry device calendar, providing you with a timely reminder to post a birthday message from your home screen – without even opening the Facebook app. And if this is too much or if you liked it the old way, no problem – that’s where the customization options come in handy.

In-app Facebook Event support puts you at the center of the party

With enhanced Facebook Event support in v3.2, you can now view information about an event, post a message to the event’s wall, view profiles of invited guests, and receive event notifications from your BlackBerry smartphone.

Head over to BlackBerry App World now to upgrade to Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v3.2. Because let’s be honest — you’ll want to stay on top of all the details around that epic Halloween party being planned.

*App may take up to 24 hours to appear in BlackBerry App World

Lily
Photo by @LexieJovanovski; taken with a BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphone

Yoshi
Photo by RIM Community Manager Kerri (^KB); taken with a BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone

Snowball
Photo by @f_asli_yilmaz; yaken with a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphone

Neil
Photo by RIM Community Manager Carolyn (^CH); taken with a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone

Diesel
Photo by @rockadelly; taken with a BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone

Got your own adorable pet pictures to share? Share them by tweeting us @BlackBerry or posting on our Facebook® wall.

BlackBerry® device owners are doers. They’re always on, and they handle daily responsibilities – plus the occasional crisis – with ease and a BlackBerry smartphone at their side.

BlackBerry products have helped them send documents to colleagues just in time, with just a few taps. They’ve helped users “remember” the name of someone familiar nearby, allowing them to use BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) to communicate with a mutual friend on the other side of the world. And these are only a few stories.

Over the next two weeks, we’re collecting heroics (or stories)! No BlackBerry rescue is too small or too large. Tell us about it! I’ll even share one of the many times my BlackBerry smartphone rescued me this month to get the ball rolling.

About a year ago I was travelling with my family on vacation when my father experienced a medical emergency on a ski hill. Luckily we were able to use our BlackBerry smartphones to not only find aid, but to communicate in real time with family back home and provide updates. Our trip was extended for a few days and we used our smartphones to find our way around the community. Tips on where to find 24-hour coffee shops and other nearby amenities are key for situations like this. I was able to keep in touch with the office as well, which definitely came in handy. With the help of entertaining apps and videos on our BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, our family got through those long waiting room hours. My father made a full recovery, and what could have been a really rough time was made that much smoother. And yes, the picture above was snagged from my BlackBerry device.

Now it’s your turn — let’s hear some good ones! Share your story by leaving a comment, or sharing on Twitter® (#BoldRescue) or Facebook®.

Today’s Five Pic Friday features a variety of Bold photographs sent in by fans. Check out a few of the pictures below and view the rest of the Bold Photography on our BlackBerry Flickr® Page.

Photo by @masroora; taken with a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone

Photo by @robertson88; taken with a BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone

Photo by @PatWallace; taken with a BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone

Photo by @nerdologist_jon; taken with a BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone

Photo by @CoolsLogan; taken with a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9930 smartphone

What Bold photography have you captured this year? Send your photos our way by tweeting us @BlackBerry or posting on our Facebook wall.

Bonus: Make your photography even bolder by using these top BlackBerry smartphone photography apps.

Photo by CT (@IamCalTait). Taken with a BlackBerry® Curve™ 9300 smartphone.

Photo by R.E.M. (@RosieMickasko). Taken with a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9780 smartphone.

Photo by Angelo Maurer (@Angelo_Thoughts). Taken with a BlackBerry Bold 9780 smartphone.

Photo by Jason Goncalves (@jasongoncalves). Taken with a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9790 smartphone.

Photo by Erin Kampferseck (@erinkampferseck). Taken with a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Keep sending in your BlackBerry photos by tweeting us @BlackBerry or posting on our Facebook® wall.