Hoping to appeal to high-powered bloggers who own multiple blogs and have a strong presence on Facebook, Six Apart has launched the Blog It application to let users update their blogs and "microblogs" directly from Facebook.

Six Apart is the creator of TypePad, amongst other services, but has designed an application that works across a number of popular platforms. About a dozen popular blogging platforms -- including WordPress, Movable Type, Vox, and Blogger -- are included, together with microblogging services such as Twitter and Pownce.

Facebook Chat launched on Saturday to a few select networks, in the ubiquitous 'beta' mode. So far so good, with the lucky few who've been trialling it reporting "it's a great implementation".

A permanent, unhideable Chat bar appears on the bottom of every page on Facebook, which shows your various IM conversations, notifications and online contacts. Whilst the default setting for conversations is within your Facebook window, you can minimise it, or open a new tab for that chat. Status updates are also integrated into the Chat window, plus your contact's actions - so if the friend you're talking to writes on your wall, or uploads photos etc, you're notified in the IM window.

Last time we checked, RealNetworks - the body that owns legit Scrabble licenses from Hasbro and Mattel - was negotiating to buy the absurdly popular Scrabulous Facebook minigame. Despite having the potential for offering RealNetworks a serious leg up in the world of social network gaming, it seems the deal fell through (some say the creators, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, wanted a bit too much dosh for it). So RealNetworks has abandoned the idea and launched a whole new version of Scrabble instead.

Excitingly named 'Scrabble by Mattel', the new game is now a direct rival to Scrabulous' market. The problem with this strategy is that Scrabulous already has 600,000 daily players who have no need for another nearly identical version and anyone new to the notion will most likely want the same version as their mates.

While some might argue that spending a lot of time playing games on Facebook is a sure-fire way to shrink your brain, it seems that the "Who has the biggest brain?" game is causing quite a stir on Facebook.

The official Playfish blog reports that their competitive brain training game has hit the top ten, with over one million installs to date, and is pushing stalwart favourites like Scrabulous and Texas Hold'em Poker.

We know all about Google's charity work - now deadly rival Yahoo and the still-going social network MySpace have all joined together to create a non-profit social networking development tool.

The "community-governed" OpenSocial Foundation is designed to give the community a neutral (ie, DEFINITELY NOT MICROSOFT) social networking standard. Based around Google's existing OpenSocial format, the three tech companies are doing this entirely for your benefit - and will have the OpenSocial Foundation fully operational as a charity by July.

Together, the three brave internet companies will become INVINCIBLE! (ie, might not get bought/crushed by Microsoft).

(Via Reuters)

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Chris Avenir, who was accused of cheating by setting up a study group on Facebook, has not been expelled from Ryerson University. However, his assignment will be marked with a big fat zero.

"Chris in our view is still innocent, so it is still too bad that he got zero for that 10 percent," said Nora Loreto, president of the Ryerson Students' Union. "But considering we were facing expulsion I think this is a victory, certainly a broader victory for the students at Ryerson."

Bad news for third-party providers - Facebook is set to launch its own instant messaging service, possibly as soon as this week.

That's the claim from TechCrunch, which reckons the service will be built into user's Facebook pages and allow them to web chat with their Facebook friends. Initially it was thought to be built on the Jabber open source platform, but now it seems that the initial launch will be Facebook only, rather than being able to mix with other popular clients

All of which is bad news for third parties offering a similar service, as well as the more established players in the market. More if/when the official announcement arrives.

Facebook (via TechCrunch)

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Yes, I realise most Facebook users have applications coming out of their ears, but Amazon's rather late entry into the social networking scene has delivered two decent -- dare I say useful -- apps.

They won't help you turn your friends in vampires, or tell everyone what your bodily functions say about your personality, or help you win virtual poker, but they might just give your friends a clue as to what you want for your birthday.

Amazon Giver allows Facebook users with an Amazon account to display their Wishlist -- now anyone wanting to buy you a present can at least get an idea of the things you like (you created it, after all) and then totally ignore it and buy you tat instead.

It only works for the US Amazon store at present, but hopefully a UK version isn't far down the line.

Paramount has become the first movie studio to offer up an extensive collection of clips from its movies on Facebook.

Using the VooZoo service, Facebook users can send "Voohoo" messages to their friends, containing video snippets from famous films, ranging in length from a few seconds to entire scenes.

Of course, Paramount hopes that sharing these clips will bring more visitors to its DVD store, and may use the technology to virally market new film releases.

(Via Web User)

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Massively popular but essentially illegal Scrabulous could soon find a saviour.

According to online reports, RealNetworks -- who already have licences from both Hasbro and Mattel -- has been working closely with the Agarwalla brothers to bring the official Scrabble game to Facebook users.

In addition, Bill Hankes, VP of Corporate Communications at RealNetworks, said in an email published by GigaOm, that their company is not part of any legal action against Scrabulous, and that they were "in a unique position to bring all the parties together in an effort to preserve the Scrabble experience for millions of Scrabulous fans."

Having torn myself away from Gridrunner++ on Facebook, here's another game that takes less of a retro spin. It's called Guesss Whooo, but no, it's not a clone of the famous board game.

Instead, it's like a celeb-focused version of 21 Questions - you think of a celeb, then your friends and other Guesss Whooo players have to ask questions to figure out who it is. You're only allowed to answer Yes or No to their questions, of course.

Developer Amiel Shapiro sent it to me, and reckons it's a game that appeals to non-gamers. "It's also a very convenient way for non-bloggers to generate content," he says. "Due to the rather limited structure, people feel comfortable to ask, answer, write comments and actually have small discussions during the game."

It's a cool idea, although with many of the current players based in Israel, I'm floundering a bit on the celebrities they're choosing. Still, as the game picks up an audience in other countries, that won't be an issue any more.

Guesss Whooo Facebook app

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Great news for retro gamers with a penchant for llamas. Classic PC game Gridrunner++ has been released as a Facebook application. The original was developed by legendary game designer Jeff Minter, and the new version seemingly has Jeff's blessing.

What's it about? Oh, 45 levels of frankly insane shoot 'em up action. With sheep. And what with this being a Facebook application, it's got a built-in high scores table that features your Facebook friends - giving you an incentive to sign them up.

The game's been developed by programmer Mark Ripley, together with casual games website Gimme5games, and Minter's company Llamasoft. Now, what about a Facebook update of Attack Of The Mutant Camels...

Gridrunner++ Facebook app page

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Shazam, which we featured a couple of years back, has just announced the launch of an application for Facebook that will allow users to access recent songs identified via Shazam's mobile service, and share that music with their friends.

Provided Facebook users already have a Shazam mobile account, it's quick and easy to register and synchronise accounts, needing just name and mobile phone number.

Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam commented, “Social networks are fundamentally changing the way people discover, purchase and consume music. Whether they are used to share and recommend music, reflect a person’s mood or personality or communicate music tastes, it is clear that they offer tremendous value. We are thrilled to be announcing Shazam’s Facebook application and are confident it will offer our users an even richer, more engaging music experience.”

Shazam

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Facebook is changing the way that application invites are handled, meaning that the user experience should be improved from "not another @&£?$#! invite" to... well, a bit more peace and quiet.

They've already changed the way notifications are sent out, so that they vary based upon how "spammed" users are feeling.

Instead of the fixed limit of 20 invitations per user per day, the new dynamic limits will be based upon a user's historical invitation acceptance rate, whether an application forces users to invite friends (ARGH!), and some additional undisclosed factors which “reflect the affinity users show for the application as a whole”. Whatever they may be.

Most Facebook games are for fun. Well, that and bragging rights against your mates, obviously. It's still a bit unclear how (or indeed if) proper gambling will be a factor. Playing poker against your Facebook friends for real money is a tempting thought, but a worrying one too - especially for Facebook itself, given the US' stringent anti online gambling policies.

Ujogo Poker isn't real-money gambling, but it's a bit more tasty than the play-for-fun poker apps we've covered before. It's free to play, and you win points. What do points mean? PRIZES! You can redeem your points on Ujogo's online store - the application is based on the existing Ujogu poker site, which runs in a similar way.

Besides winning points off other players, you get them for merely playing hands, referring friends, and other in-game achievements. The company is also planning to hold $100 prize tournaments to promote the Facebook application. The downside? You have to be a US resident to win prizes or redeem points. D'oh! Hopefully they'll extend this to the UK soon.

Ujogo Poker Facebook application

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I reported earlier this week on the row blowing up around Scrabulous, the website and Facebook application word game that's heavily inspired by Scrabble. Well, it is Scrabble, if I'm honest. And that's why the latter's brand-owners Mattel and Hasbro want it removed from Facebook.

Anyway, a campaign to save Scrabulous is building up a head of steam, with more than 20,000 people signed up to its Facebook group, and an online petition with over 2,600 signatures. Yet on the face of it, Scrabulous' developers don't have a leg to stand on: it's about as clear an example of infringement as you can find.

However, the Facebook group's intro message takes a realistic view: "The copyright infringement is obvious and, in retrospect, the developers of Scraboulous should have done more to create their own spin on it... We in this group realize this, but we urge Hasbro to make the right decision. Rather than kill this application, they should work out a peaceful compromise with the developers to keep this success going."

Watch this space...

Save Scrabulous Facebook group

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Come on, who seriously didn't think that at some point, Hasbro's lawyers would have something to say about the popular Facebook application Scrabulous, which is basically Scrabble under a (not even that) different name? Especially since it's also a website that comes up second when you run a Google search for 'Scrabble'.

It appears that Hasbro has asked Facebook to take the app down due to trademark infringement, although developers Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla say they're fighting the move. And if they really are making $25,000 a month from ads on the app, no wonder.

The real question, of course, is when/if Hasbro will launch an official Scrabble Facebook application, since there's a clear demand for it. If I were them, I'd be beating a path to the Agarwallas' door with a job offer...

(via PC Pro)

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Tower Bloxx is the best Facebook game, bar none

If you're at work, better get that important task done now before reading any further in this post. I'm about to torpedo your chances of ever getting anything worthwhile done during office hours. Really.

It's a Facebook application called Tower Bloxx, which started life as a mobile game before being converted to run on the social network's apps platform. To play, you just click the mouse to drop a block, then again to drop one on top of it, and so on. If your aim's off, your tower starts swaying about like a drunken navvy.

And better still, it ties in seamlessly with your Facebook contacts, compiling a dynamic high-score table of all your friends' scores, and showing their mugshots at the side of the play area when your tower overtakes them. It's truly, wondrously ace. I'm on 73 blocks and can't stop playing it.

Tower Bloxx on Facebook

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Not content with taking over the world's offices, Facebook could be about to tap into new music talent with the launch of Facebook Music.

According to Co-ed Magazine, the social networking giant will announce phase one of its expansion into music at next week's ad:tech conference in New York, which will give 'Facebook artists' the option to register a sub-domain name through Facebook (like www.facebook.com/yourband), with users able to become 'fans' and connect to hosted media on the artist page.

The fans can also interact via their own pages, hosting music and video, along with the latest band news - and commercially, there will be targeted marketing, ads and promotion for acts too. Finally, artist specific sales widgets will allow for music sales through the site.

Sound familiar? I can hear the chewing of pens at mySpace right now. And this is only the first step, with more aggressive marketing and tools to follow in an attempt to hit the competition hard. We'll keep you posted.

Facebook (via Hypebot)

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Bad news for BlackBerry widows - your other half has another excuse for tapping away through the night - Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones.

With the launch of the Facebook application, users can update their profiles, check messages and add new friends while on the move, with an emphasis on replicating the exact look and feel of your Facebook profile. And using 'push' technology, you receive friend requests, Wall posts and messages automatically, with the option to set up a unique alert for Facebook related content.

There's also quick access buttons, the option to invite friends from your smartphone, easy scrolling through messages and notifications and the ability to snap pictures, then upload from your handset. You can download it now for free.

BlackBerry

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