I think we can all agree that a BlackBerry has one primary purpose: communication. Text messages, emails, and that wonderful keyboard all come together to make the BlackBerry a hub of communication. In these new days of social media, those aren't the only way to talk to others. Facebook, Twitter, and BlackBerry Messenger are just three newer ways to connect to the world around you.
The contacts application on your BlackBerry isn't just a place to store your friends' and family's phone numbers and email addresses. Anniversaries, addresses, and birthdays are in there too, but that's not what I'm talking about. Using the official apps for Twitter, Facebook, BBM, etc., you can link people you know from these social applications to their contact on your BlackBerry.
"Oh, cool." you think to yourself as you throw confetti ironically into the air. "Yay," you add. Hold off on the ironic confetti-throwing and sarcastic cheers for a moment, this is actually pretty cool. Linked to Facebook, Twitter, or BBB; your contacts' pictures can be updated with their avatar from those services and app. Opening the person's BlackBerry contact gives you a quick look at the person's last few tweets, emails, or wall posts. After finding your contact - in the address book or through universal search - a touch of a button is all that is required to instantly message a contact in a variety of ways. See? Not too shabby; read on to find out how.
Why?
That's a good question. To answer it, I say Why not? "That's a good reason for almost anything - a bit used perhaps, but still quite serviceable." More than that, BlackBerry is about choice. Just about everything you do on your BlackBerry can be done in more than one way. Think about the clock; there are at least three different ways to get to it. While you may not use every option, it's still nice to know that you have a choice.
Consider this situation. Yesterday in the US was Father's Days. Millions of people around the states watch Big Daddy and are reminded just how much their dads mean to them. Okay, not really, but it's a day to give thanks for our dads. To wish him a happy Father's Day, I first found my dad in my visual address book. A touch and hold (on the Torch, it's click and hold on other OS6 devices) of his icon opened a popup window with all the various ways I could contact him.
I sent my dad a text message, an email, a BBM, and posted on his Facebook wall all from clicking that one icon. If he was on Twitter, you can be sure he would have gotten a push notification about his new mention. Oh, and I called him, too. But that goes without saying.
Connect BBM Contacts.
Open BlackBerry Messenger and find the BBM contact that you would like to connect to your BlackBerry Contacts. Highlight the contact, and press the menu key to choose "View Contact Profile." Inside the profile, press the menu key again and select "Link with BlackBerry Contact." Select the contact you wish to pair with BBM. You'll get the option to use your contact's BBM avatar as the picture in your BlackBerry Contacts.
Connect Facebook
Using the offical Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones app, this is very similar to connecting a contact from BBM. You'll start by going to your list of Facebook friends. Highlight a friend that you want to connect to your BlackBerry contacts, and press the menu key. Just as before, you'll choose "Link with BlackBerry Contact
In Twitter for BlackBerry, view a person's profile. Could be a follower, someone you follow, anybody; just view their profile page - the one where you can choose to follow or unfollow someone. Press the menu button and select "Link with BlackBerry Contact" From here....ah, I think you've got it from here.
These are just a few of the ways you can add contact options to your BlackBerry...well, contacts. After making all of these connections, you can use the contacts application to view that person's most recent conversations. It won't matter if that conversation was by email or Twitter, it shows up inside that person's contacts.
Universal search makes linking your contacts that much more attractive. Search for someone's name in universal search, and one of the first options will be their BlackBerry contact. Touch and hold (click and hold) this icon for a moment to get the popup window with messaging options. And there you have it: a multitude of ways to contact someone all at the push of a button.
