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Google+ Gets a Redesign (Google Blog)
We’re introducing a more functional and flexible version of Google+. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly, it accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google. SocialTimes This update proves that Facebook really does have something to fear as Google has improved the user experience in a lot of innovative ways that may leave Facebookers envious. TechCrunch It’s interesting that Google+ has now changed its design, after its first efforts received such praise. BGR The new interface focuses on customization, Google’s Hangout video chatting service and features that will make it easier to discover new conversations and profile pages. Lifehacker The improvements are rolling out over the next few days. Read more
Foursquare teamed with mobile deals specialist Scoutmob to add 500 new deals across 13 cities in the U.S. The deals do not require a credit card or up-front purchase. Foursquare says deals are often 50 to 100% off. That’s quite a deal.
You know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. How about Small Business Saturday? That’s what Foursquare and American Express are promoting this coming Saturday, November 26. What’s in it for you? Perhaps $25 credited back to your card.
As the late great Rodney Dangerfield might have said, “The BlacKBerry don’t get no respect.” Falling market share, an aging mobile platform and a recent multi-nation three-day outage is not helping RIM win friends for the BlackBerry. The latest blow? Google announced that the Gmail App for BlackBerry will take a bow and exit on November 22, 2011.
Nielsen released another of their fascinating reports focused on the mobile world. The report focuses on smartphone use by age categories. And, there are a couple of interesting twists revealed by their data. Overall, 43% of phone owning adults have a smartphone. While it is probably not a surprise to most casual observers that the smartphone penetration rate for mobile phone owning young adults (ages 25-34) is 62%, it may surprise you to learn that the second fastest growing smartphone owning group are people in the 45 to 50 year category. Smartphone ownership by this cohort grew by 5% in just a single quarter.
If you have an iPhone running iOS 4 (or newer) or an Android phone running Android OS 2.1 (or newer), accessing Google+ is a matter of downloading and installing the appropriate free app. However, there is no app for an iPhone running an older version of iOS, an Android phone running an older version of Android or some other phone (Nokia with Symbian, Windows Mobile or Windows Phone). If your phone is in this last category, Google has a support page to help you out.
Facebook’s group messaging app was launched just a 
The biggest enhancement is the ability to use more than one Twitter account. One common use-case for multiple accounts is a person who maintains personal and business Twitter accounts. There is a Switch Account function to work with multiple accounts. Tweets can be cross-posted across accounts. And, a retweet can be made between accounts within the app.