Screen_shot_2010-11-15_at_10.08.00_AM.png
Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook employees announced today that they're putting their message system on steroids, launching a cross-platform messaging system that enables people to keep in touch with an "informal" linked system that includes e-mail, text messaging, and IM. (There will be @facebook.com e-mail addresses available, but the service reportedly "works just as well" without the Facebook e-mails.) During the press conference, they repeatedly used the phrase "friends that you care about," suggesting that this is intended to be the personal messaging system that you use to keep up with friends in the real world. It sounds like Google Buzz with slightly less functionality, but the basic idea—you can make an appointment with friends on your work computer, say, and then keep the conversation running seamlessly via your phone when you leave your desk—is a solid one. Of course, with Facebook being Facebook, privacy concerns will no doubt continue and probably intensify with this new system.


Meanwhile, Apple just released a cryptic message saying that they're going to be announcing a change to iTunes tomorrow, which will make it "A Day You'll Never Forget." There's a bunch of speculation on what that means—cloud-based iTunes, streaming music, and/or wireless sync—already.