Gist.

We’ve had our noses to the grindstone the past few months working on bug fixes and performance improvements for Gist for BlackBerry and we are excited to announce the latest release is finally here!

Overall Account Performance & Reliability

The Gist for BlackBerry app received major performance and reliability improvements this release. You will notice a significant increase in speed and reliability upon the initial load of contacts from various sources (Contacts app, Calendar app, email, Twitter, and Facebook) and pulling all of their social information and news from the web.

We now pull new contacts from your social accounts into Gist more often. So you will see a new Facebook friend or someone you’ve followed on Twitter appear faster in your Gist account.

The “Get the Gist” option from the Contacts and Calendar apps is not only faster, but also more reliable. The app is also much faster when navigating the tabs within a contact profile.

New Features

The “Get the Gist” feature now works on contact groups in the BlackBerry Contacts app. Simply open the Contacts app on your BlackBerry, highlight the group, press the BlackBerry menu button on your device and select “Get the Gist”. The Gist app will open displaying the list of people in your contact group. From here you can easily navigate profile information and social updates to learn more about the people in your group.

Bug Fixes

We received many requests from our users for more detailed messages within the app. We have added these messages in this release. You will now be prompted to sign in, check your internet connection and such, instead of receiving a generic error message.

What’s Next?

Now that we are caught up on bug fixes, we will begin working on additional Gist for BlackBerry features! Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks and please suggest a feature here!

Learn more about Gist for BlackBerry here:

Introducing Gist for BlackBerry Smartphones

Manage Your BlackBerry Calendar with Gist

Gist for BlackBerry + BlackBerry Messenger 6 (BBM 6) = Social Awesomeness

The meteoric rise of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn over the last few years has left many traditional employers in a quandary – should they allow employees social networking site access “on the clock” and risk decreasing productivity, or should they attempt to ban activities that are increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives?

In many ways, this decision is being made for employers, with connected employees demanding access to social networking sites on the job, or finding alternative ways to access these pages (via popular smartphones, for example).

In the face of this new reality, it’s up to employers to recognize the advantages a connected workforce offers and harness these benefits to improve the company’s digital presence. For more tips on how to do this successfully, check out our infographic on “The Social Enterprise,” which shares Gist’s top recommendations on how to cultivate a social and connected organization:

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If it’s true that it takes a village to raise a child, then it’s just as certain that it takes a group of driven, like-minded business professionals in order for a start-up to succeed…

Indeed, starting your own business can be an overwhelming process.  Even if you have past experience in the industry you’re entering, launching new startup still requires commitment, effort, energy, knowledge and more.  If you have weaknesses in any area, the best way to compensate is with a mentor who can provide wisdom and input to help guide you over the bumps in the road you’ll most certainly encounter.

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Business blogging and social media publishing can be a great way to engage your readers and share insight into both your personality and business.  However, they are – by no means – straightforward processes.

Chances are if you’ve been online for any amount of time, you’ve read both good web content and bad content.  Good content can be extremely useful in generating customer leads and forming positive brand associations amongst future prospects.  Bad content, on the other hand, can be very, very bad!

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If there are only 24 hours in a day, how is that some people seem to get so much more done than others?!

Truth be told, being a successful entrepreneur is as much about time management as it is having brilliant ideas and great industry connections.  After all, if you can’t get a handle on your time, how can you expect to ever reach the goals you’ve set for yourself and your business?

If you aren’t as effective as you could be when it comes to time management, it’s time to take charge!  It is possible to learn good time management, by simply following these three steps to capturing and managing your time:

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You’ve got your S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) goals, your S.M.A.R.T.E.R. (add Evaluate and Reevaluate to the earlier list) goals and even your D.U.M.B. (Dreamy, Unrealistic, Motivating and Bold) goals – but how about we all cut the cutesy language and figure out how exactly to set goals that you’ll really meet?

Here’s how to keep on track to ensure you achieve even your wildest dreams:

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Every year, Business Insider evaluates and ranks the Top 100 most valuable internet startups based on online income and estimated valuation.  Given the relative instability of the industry, positions in this prestigious club shift rapidly from year to year, providing interesting insight into ever-changing world of internet business.

Unsurprisingly, though, Facebook remains at the topic of the pack, with Business Insider noting its outstanding growth and future potential:

“Facebook continues to grow at a tremendous clip and now has more than 750 million users worldwide. The company reportedly earned $500 million on $1.6 billion in revenue during the first half of 2011 and is on track to do more than $4 billion of revenue for the year.”

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Unless your startup has been blessed with a tremendous amount of early capital, chances are cutting expenses and saving money are on the top of your business “to do” list.  Here’s a few different ways to make it happen!

Physical Space

Tip #1 – Consider remote work arrangements

Providing physical space for your employees means paying for rent, office furniture, utilities and more.  If It isn’t absolutely necessary for your workers to be physically present, remote work arrangements can represent a significant cost savings.

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If you want to do great work, you need great people, which is why the success or failure of your startup often depends on the quality of the people you’re able to attract.

Unfortunately, simply posting your open positions to Craigslist or local job boards isn’t likely to result in the caliber of candidates you need to build a winning team.  Instead, consider the following advice on how to attract top talent to your startup:

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There’s nothing like making the leap from employee to self-employed to make you truly appreciate just how many expenses went into keeping you comfortable on the job.  In fact, rent is the least of your concerns!  Besides paying for your physical space, you’re on the hook for desks, chairs, computers, utilities and supplies (including those little yellow Post-it notes you once felt no shame in pocketing…).

And unfortunately, with commercial real estate, you may find yourself locked into these expenses for years at a time, as traditional office buildings typically have strict leasing periods of three years or more – unless you’re willing to pay massive penalties to break your lease early!

For these reasons, commercial real estate may simply not be a viable alternative in your business’s early stages.  So instead of blowing money you don’t have on expenses you can’t afford, or signing a long-term lease when you aren’t even sure your fledgling company will make it through the year, consider any of the following alternative work arrangements when it comes to finding space for your startup:

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