BlackBerry, the enterprise phone, is often dismissed as the “other” brand within social media communities. But worldwide, BlackBerrys still outnumber iPhones — approx. 36 million to 21 million — and RIM has made major strides in recent years to become more social-friendly.

I use my BlackBerry not only for business, but for most of my social media. I’ve found it to be downright kickass at both, made even better by a full keyboard, and great global coverage.

There are many social media-related apps available for BlackBerry, and it can be tough to pick only the good ones. To cut through the others, here are my top-5 social apps for BlackBerry:

Please continue to read the full article on Mashable.com at the following URL:

http://mashable.com/2010/01/25/social-apps-blackberry/

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Before you read too much into the title of this post, let’s get one thing straight. No, I’m not propositioning you with a double entendre. So get your mind out of the gutter! What I am here to do is to tell you about a new piece of computer technology that is poised to become the next big social media craze. If you haven’t heard of a poken yet, you soon will (@WarrenCorpus popped my Poken cherry). That’s because this thumb-size device is on the verge of taking the uber-popular social media world by storm.

What’s all the fuss about?
Well, first off, it eliminates the printing of business cards, personal cards or scraps of paper with your contact information on it. Just give someone a “high four” with their poken and your contact information including social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Myspace, etc.) are synced. No more printing and data entry of contact information again! Also, one can’t overlook the cuteness factor. Currently available in panda, alien, bee, ninja, pig, voodoo and fire varieties, pokens are just so darn cute that they’re almost irresistible. But rest assured, they’re not the 21st century’s Furbie. Oh no, these cutie pies actually serve a genuine and useful purpose.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts!
But a poken is more than just a pretty face. Inside lies a hand-shaped appendage. When you pull out the hidden hand, you reveal a USB connector. Plug that bad boy into your Internet-connected computer and the way you Facebook, Twitter, etc. will never be the same. As the poken site explains, pokens “instantly bridge the gap between the people you meet in the real world and those you stay connected to online.”

So how does it work?
When you purchase a poken, you’ll be set up with a “Poken Card.” Think of it kind of like a business card but without all the personal information. Your privacy is ensured because a Poken Card reveals only your most basic information.

Now, you load your Poken Card with the social network profiles of your choosing. Want to share your Facebook profile with new people when you meet them in the offline world? Then add Facebook to your card. Want to keep your Twitter profile private? Then leave it off your card. The nice thing about a poken is that it’s all up to you.

The networks you choose to display will be shown as a link on your Poken Card. And that’s where the real fun begins. Your new contacts log onto DoYouPoken.com to view your Poken Card. When they do, they can click on your logo to see your full profile on the social networking sites you’ve elected to share with them.

The social networking fun doesn’t stop there though. DoYouPoken.com points out, “You can also send messages, group contacts with a label, write notes for yourself about each contact, and so much more.”

Poken Account Interface

Where can I get my hands on my very own poken?
Visit DoYouPoken.com. Click on the “Buy a Poken” link. From there, you can choose to either find a retailer or webshop selling individual pokens or buy a 12-pack on the spot.

Do you have any questions that weren’t answered in this post? Are you a poken enthusiast who wants to come out of the closet and share it with the world? Shout it out in the comments section!

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