Woohoo! For all you social media fiends out there, we’re keeping the updates flowing. Both the Twitter and LinkedIn apps will be receiving an update for BlackBerry 10 smartphones today. The apps will be available for free download in the BlackBerry World storefront. These enhanced apps make it easier than ever to stay connected and do more with your social and professional contacts, while on the go.

I’m sure you can’t wait to check out some of the new features and enhancements you can look forward to when you pick them up. Check out all the details below.

New Features for Twitter version 10.0.3/10.1.3

• Enjoy more content with Universal Search –See more content when you’re searching. You’ll be able to view related profiles, tweets and top tweets, photos and relevant searches all on one page.
• Always Fresh Content – Content that is always fresh and up to date. Automatic caching gives you the current information at your fingertips without having to manually refresh your tabs.

New Features for LinkedIn version 10.0.3/10.1.3

• Find your current contacts on LinkedIn: With the latest update, you can import the personal address book from your BlackBerry 10 device to LinkedIn, making it easier to view and connect to your contacts on LinkedIn.
• UI improvements: We’ve updated the overall design of the LinkedIn application for BlackBerry 10 to improve the user experience. These updates include improved visual styling, better pull down functionalities for refreshes, touch down feedback on clicking list items, and more.
• Follow and learn about companies :An important element of LinkedIn is the ability to connect to companies and subscribe for company related updates and content. The latest version of LinkedIn for BlackBerry 10 allows you to view information about the companies you follow in greater detail, such as:
• How you’re connected
• About
• Jobs
• Similar Companies
• News & Updates
• Other Updates: We’ve made quite a few additional updates to LinkedIn for BlackBerry 10. These include inbox enhancements, deleting and archiving messages, people search improvements, and the ability to update your profile photo from within the app. To get all the details, visit the official app page on the BlackBerry World application storefront.

Do these updates have your mouth watering? Download them now on BlackBerry World: Twitter v10.0.3/10.1.3 and LinkedIn v10.0.3/10.1.3 and let us know what you’re most excited for in the comments below.

Please note the apps may take up to 24 hours to appear in BlackBerry World storefront.

Our LinkedIn Group and LinkedIn Products Page have been abuzz with BlackBerry enthusiasts who rely on BlackBerry to provide solid business devices, and have been waiting to get their hands on the new BlackBerry Z10. Kris Ninnim, Owner and Operator at CK-OMS, writes:

Will Robertson, Product and Services Development Specialist at Bell also provided his positive initial impression:

We’ve also seen some great feedback on Twitter from our @BlackBerry4Biz followers:

@BlackBerry4Biz #BEF13 #BBZ10 Keep moving. Very impressive. Great device to balance work and life.—
Nina G. Caspillo (@ninagcaspillo) February 13, 2013

@BlackBerry4Biz just got my z10 and loving it! Smartphone of the year, 2013. It truly is an outstanding device.—
Tech Man (@techmogulevol) February 10, 2013

Never thought I would type on glass until demoing @BlackBerry Z10 @ BEF13. #incredible—
Michael Grimes (@msgrimes1959) February 04, 2013

To learn more about how you can make the most of every business opportunity with the BlackBerry Z10, check out our video below:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Have you had the chance to try the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone? We’d love to hear your first impressions in the comments below or with a recommendation on our LinkedIn products page.

On Twitter, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 has been welcomed with eager anticipation from the day it was announced:

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 is out today. The server is free to download and can admin iOS and Android devices too. Pretty impressive.—
Simoη Dingle (@simondingle) January 23, 2013

‏@BlackBerry4Biz We upgraded to #BES10 a couple of days ago. Smooth like butter. blck.by/ViZrwO ^L—
Alan Quarry (@aquarry) January 29, 2013

Well! That was a piece of cake! Installed @BlackBerry4Biz Enterprise Service 10! We are ready for BB10s on Monday! http://t.co/WjSyNQMv—
Neil (@NeilHyndman) February 10, 2013

We’ve also appreciated the feedback we’ve gotten from reviewers on LinkedIn. Todd Striegel, Senior System Support at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, writes:

K&K Electronics LTD Product Manager Nina Bogdanova also shares positive feedback:

To learn more about how BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 can help your business with management, productivity, and secure interaction with corporate data, check out our interview with Jeff Holleran, Senior Director of Enterprise Product Management at BlackBerry:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

If your organization is using BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below or with a recommendation on our LinkedIn products page.

This year, our chat focused on how running a small business has changed in the past decade. The questions highlighted past challenges and successes that small business owners have faced over the years and focused on current obstacles and achievements involved in running a small business today. The chat had over 100 participants who tweeted more than 700 tweets with the #BBSMBchat hashtag during the chat and over 900 tweets throughout the entire day! What really made me happy to see is that over HALF of the participants were tweeting from BlackBerry® devices! It’s great to know that some of you didn’t have to be sitting behind a desk or at a computer, and that your BlackBerry device enabled you to participate from wherever was most convenient for you.

I want to share some of my favorite answers to a few of the questions, but I urge each of you to search the hashtag and check out the entire chat again. With so many tweets, the chat was hard to keep up with and I know that I saw a lot of new tweets that I had missed when I went back to reread the conversation. Again, thank you to everyone who participated. The small business community has such a strong presence on Twitter®, and your peers really are your best resource.

How are the challenges of starting a new business now different than they were ten years ago?

A1: It's about leadership. Not sitting back. Being assertive. Customer service. Treating employees well. Prospecting + selling. #BBSMBchat—
Howard Lewinter (@HowardLewinter) July 09, 2012

Who are some of the people/orgs who you follow on Twitter that provide good advice to help your #smallbiz?

A2 I'd say all the #SMBInfluencers are worth following for sure. ow.ly/c7Lqj #bbsmbchat—
SMB Influencer (@SMBInfluencer) July 09, 2012

What influences #SMBs the most today? Was it the same ten years ago?

A3 SMBs are influenced by global markets more today than in the past because we are more aware due to the internet #BBSMBchat—
Ileane Smith (@BasicBlogTips) July 09, 2012

How has social media evolved the small business space?

A4: Social media has made it possible for small business to compete with the "big boys" in a great way! "Conversational mkting" #BBSMBchat—
Martin Lindeskog (@Lyceum) July 09, 2012

Is it harder or easier to keep up with emerging trends in #smallbiz than it was ten years ago? Why?

A6: Easier to pick up on a trend. Harder to know if it's important to your biz. #BBSMBchat—
Robert Brady (@robert_brady) July 09, 2012

How has the internet changed the way you stay updated about #smallbiz and your industry? What sources do you get news from?

A7 I get my SMB news online (news sites, blogs, LinkedIn), various magazines, in-person meetings and right here on Twitter! #BBSMBCHAT—
Philip Nowak (@PhilipNowak) July 09, 2012

Who do you consider to be a #smallbiz legend? Alternatively, do you know of any emerging and promising fresh faces?

A8 @dmscott and @chrisbrogan: legends. @lisabarone and @CarolJSRoth: up and coming. #bbsmbchat—
Susan Payton (@eggmarketing) July 09, 2012

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is about to start their own small business?

A9: Make it something you know AND love. That's why I live to help #smallbusiness get online #BBSMBchat—
kyle bellingar (@KyleBellingar) July 09, 2012

Show your support to members of the small business community by nominating a company, organization, app, or individual who has made a significant impact in the North American small business market for a Small Business Influencer Award. Nominations close this Sunday, July 15, 2012.

Join us and our guests of honor – small business experts Anita Campbell and Ramon Ray – tonight, Monday July 9th, from 7-8pm EST.

If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat before, or you need a refresher, check out our blog post from last week. Below is a list of the questions we’ll ask during the chat tonight.

• How are the challenges of starting a new business now different than they were ten years ago? #BBSMBchat
• Who are some of the people/orgs who you follow on Twitter that provide good advice to help your #smallbiz? #BBSMBchat
• What influences #SMBs the most today? Was it the same ten years ago? #BBSMBchat
• How has social media evolved the #smallbiz space? #BBSMBchat
• What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is about to start their own small business? #BBSMBchat
• Is it harder or easier to keep up with emerging trends in small business than it was ten years ago? Why? #BBSMBchat
• How has the internet changed the way that you stay up to date about #smallbiz & your industry? What sources do you get news from? #BBSMBchat
• Who do you consider to be a small business legend? Alternatively, do you know of any emerging and promising fresh faces? #BBSMBchat

If you’ve never participated in a Twitter® chat before, take a look at the “How To” guide below and a few suggestions for best practices. Also, be sure to check out some of the highlights from last year’s #BBSMBchat!

Hope to see you there!

What is a Twitter chat?

A Twitter chat is an online conversation that takes place among a group of people on Twitter about a specific topic of interest. A hashtag, created by adding the # symbol to the beginning of any word, is used to keep track of the conversation. In this case, we’ll be discussing small to medium business related topics with business owners, and the hashtag we will use to track the discussion is #BBSMBchat. You’ll need a Twitter account to participate. If you don’t have one, you can sign up at Twitter.com.

How do I participate?

We’ll be asking a list of questions from our @BlackBerry4Biz Twitter handle. Our guests of honor, judges of the 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards and small business experts Anita Campbell and Ramon Ray, will be there to answer questions and help guide the conversation – but it’s up to you, the participants, to really get the chat going. Answer any of the questions that motivate you. If you have an opinion, a story, or advice, we want to hear from you! Twitter chats can become a great source of knowledge when people like you share their experiences.

Choosing the Right Tool to Track the Chat

You may want to choose a tool to help you keep track of the chat all in one stream. We recommend using TweetChat, and have set up a page to track our dialogue: http://tweetchat.com/room/BBSMBchat. From this site, you will see the real time conversation of all tweets with #BBSMBchat. If you are logged in with your personal Twitter account, you will also be able to post all of your tweets directly from the site. Another way to track the chat is by searching #BBSMBchat in the search bar at the top of the Twitter homepage.

Best Practices

Before the chat:

• Make sure to follow the host, @BlackBerry4Biz, since we’ll be asking most of the questions that you don’t want to miss!
• For this chat, we have two guests of honor, Anita Campbell (@smallbiztrends) and Ramon Ray (@ramonray). You’ll want to follow them too since they’ll be sharing their expertise about small & medium business challenges.
• Feel free to join and leave the chat at any time you’d like! Don’t worry if you’ll be a little late, or need to leave early. Join at your own convenience, we’re happy just to see one tweet from you!

During the chat:

• Make sure you use the hashtag #BBSMBchat in all of your tweets. That is how others will know that you are participating in the chat, and it will also allow your tweets to be aggregated into the chat stream.
• We will be asking designated questions throughout the chat. Our questions will start with a “Q” and the question number. Question one, for example, will start with “Q1”. Our questions will also be IN ALL CAPS, so that they are easily distinguished from other tweets in your stream.
• Remember that tweets are only 140 characters. If it seems a little difficult at first, don’t worry – all participants are condensing their thoughts too.
• Be respectful of other participants and remember that all Twitter rules still apply. Differing opinions are always okay, but express your feelings in a courteous manner, please.
• Retweet great comments and engage with other participants.
• Have fun!

After the chat:

• If you still have more information to share or questions to ask, we’ll post a link to a discussion on the BlackBerry® for Business LinkedIn® group where you can continue the discussion.
• Make sure to follow people you connected with or found interesting. Remember, your peers can also be your best resources.
• Check right here at the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog afterward for a recap of the chat, highlights, and a link to the transcript!
• Keep following us on Twitter and our LinkedIn Company Page for updates and information on upcoming chats.
• Stay in touch! We’re always here to help, so feel free to ask us questions or share resources.

We’re welcoming questions for Rory from our communities – what would you like to ask him? Simply submit your questions via Twitter using the chat hashtag #BBRoryChat and Rory will answer as many as he can next Monday.

Be sure to join us for a really exciting discussion – we’re looking forward to it! If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat before or you need a refresher, here are some useful hints and tips to get you started:

What is a Twitter chat?

A Twitter chat is an online conversation that takes place among a group of people on Twitter about a specific topic of interest. A hashtag, created by adding the # symbol to the beginning of any word, is used to keep track of the conversation. In this case, we’ll be using this hashtag to track the discussion: #BBRoryChat. You’ll need a Twitter account to participate. If you don’t have one, you can sign up at Twitter.com.

How do I participate?

We’ll be asking a list of questions from our @BBEMEABusiness Twitter handle. Rory (@roryponeill) will be answering questions from you! If you have a question for Rory, an opinion, a story, or advice during the Chat, we want to hear from you! Twitter chats can become a great source of knowledge when people like you share their experiences.

Choosing the Right Tool to Track the Chat

To help you follow the conversation, we recommend using TweetChat, and we will be setting up a page to track the Chat. From this site, you will see the real time conversation of all tweets with #BBRoryChat. If you are logged in with your personal Twitter account, you will also be able to post all of your tweets directly from the site. Another way to track the chat is by searching #BBRoryChat in the search bar at the top of the Twitter homepage.

Best Practices

• Make sure to follow the host @BBEMEABusiness since we’ll be asking most of the questions that you don’t want to miss!
• Make sure you use the hashtag #BBRoryChat in all of your tweets. That is how others will know that you are participating in the chat, and it will also allow your tweets to be aggregated into the chat stream.
• Remember that tweets are only 140 characters. If it seems a little difficult at first, don’t worry – all participants are condensing their thoughts too.
• Differing opinions are always okay, but express your feelings in a courteous manner, please.
• Retweet great comments and engage with other participants.
• If you still have more information to share or questions to ask, you can always carry on the discussion on our BlackBerry for Business LinkedIn® group.

Please stay in touch! We’re always here to help, so feel free to ask us questions or share resources leading up to this exciting event.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

As part of the entry process, you need to follow @BlackBerry4Biz on Twitter® and tweet the following information from your Twitter account:

• One reason why you deserve to go
• The phrase “Take me to #bbwc”

Good luck!

Why do you want to attend BlackBerry World 2012? Share here the comments as well as on Twitter!

*No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chance of winning. Entry deadline: 11:59:59 Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”) on April 19, 2012). Open to residents of the United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in the province, state or territory where they reside. Skill-testing question applies for Canadian entrants. Three (3) Prizes (ARV of each Prize: USD$1,399.00) available to be won. Limit of ten (10) entries per person per Twitter account. Odds of winning depend on how well each entry meets the judging criteria as per the judges. See Official Rules available here for complete Contest details.

The need to multitask and juggle both business and personal activity is becoming much more prevalent. The growing pace in the consumerization of IT has led to the emergence of a new decision maker when it comes to technology selection: the end user. Employee satisfaction seems as important a concern in some organizations as cost. The IT department is no longer the single force behind business changes in technology. Rather, end users’ demands are shaping when, how and what technology is purchased and deployed.

This is not a negative, however. Those businesses that capitalize on the enthusiasm and understanding of technology demonstrated by their staff will benefit from consumerization. “Enterprising Minds” are those people in business who most astutely understand and react to this trend. It is these “Enterprising Minds” that we are celebrating through the BlackBerry Innovation Forum series.

The UK’s South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is just one example, having embraced how social media can increase the connections between front-line police officers and their communities. By being visible on social platforms such as Twitter® and utilizing the BlackBerry platform to provide real time updates, SYP are changing not just the way that they engage with their communities, but where. They are engaging with socially active citizens in a forum they are already comfortable with, joining public conversations in an open way– while adding a personal side to the local force.

To see highlights from the London event and a close up with Jayne Forest, Inspector, South Yorkshire Police, check out the videos.

To stay up to date with the remaining Innovation Forums across EMEA, follow us on Twitter® at @BBEMEABusiness with the hashtag #BIF11.

With almost two hundred of you joining us on Monday, #BBSMBchat was hard to keep up with! So much expertise was shared that I had to go back and read through the transcript again to make sure I didn’t miss anything. We talked about all topics related to small and medium businesses (SMB’s), including the importance of networking, social media, technology, and what inspires SMB owners. I’d like to share some of my favorite responses to a few of the questions, but I urge everyone to search the hashtag and check out some of the conversation. While the responses I highlight below are fantastic, there is so much more great conversation that I encourage everyone to take a look at. If there is one thing that was reinforced during #BBSMBchat last night, it is that when you own a small or medium business, your peers are the best source for new information, advice, encouragement and inspiration.

Q2: WHAT WAS THE BEST BUSINESS ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED? WHO/WHERE DID IT COME FROM? #BBSMBchat—
Research In Motion (@BlackBerry4Biz) July 25, 2011

Best advice – stay true to your passion; #BBSMBchat—
Kate Thompson (@thompsonconsco) July 25, 2011

Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. #BBSMBchat—
James Tsimopoulos (@nationwide_co) July 25, 2011

Be yourself, believe in the product or service. If the two never meet, then it's time to move forward. #BBSMBchat—
Trina Stewart (@Trina_Stewart) July 25, 2011

A2: Best biz advice: get in touch with your inner voice, your “gut.” It talks to you. Alone time is important. #BBSMBchat—
Anita Campbell (@smallbiztrends) July 25, 2011

Q9: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS IN THE SMB COMMUNITY IF ONLY FOR MORAL SUPPORT DURING STARTUP? #BBSMBchat—
Research In Motion (@BlackBerry4Biz) July 25, 2011

@BlackBerry4Biz A9 – communicating with peers be they competitors or not is critical and essential for your biz growth and sanity #bbsmbchat—
Ramon Ray (@ramonray) July 25, 2011

Q9: Knowing you're not alone in your endeavor helps. Having an example helps more. Having a mentor is priceless. #BBSMBchat—
Robert Brady (@robert_brady) July 25, 2011

We’ve had lots of requests to host another #BBSMBchat. We plan on hosting the next #BBSMBchat within the next month and as soon as we set the date we will let you know. Once again, I’d like to thank all of the participants for making #BBSMBchat a wonderful success. The @BlackBerry4Biz team had a fantastic time and we can’t wait to chat with you again soon!