Global messaging technology provider, Retarus, has released a new version of its WebExpress, multi-channel communication platform, that now facilitates users posting messages on social media networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Xing.

An Australian company that specialises in telecoms bill optimisation claims that businesses are wasting a fortune by allowing their employees to use SMS texting on corporate mobile phones. The company claims that SMS messaging is costing businesses as much as $1000 a megabyte, while much much cheaper data messaging alternatives are available.

Just one month after Web based SMS messaging service provider SMS Global and its boss were fined $85,000 by the Federal Court of Australia for misleading customers, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued proceedings against the company in the Federal Court alleging contempt of court.

Although the Royal Wedding saw “expected social media surges” in Twitter and Facebook, Sybase 365 says “no-one could predict the increases in US and UK SMS/MMS traffic”.

Taxi 131 008 - the operator of the national 131008 number that directs bookings to over 300 different taxi services based on the callers' location - has launched an SMS booking service using technology from Sybase 365.

It's no secret that SMS charges are way out of kilter with other types of mobile phone data. So eBuddy is hoping the opportunity to save money will attract users to its new eBuddy XMS messaging service for smartphones.

Global messaging leader eBuddy (with 30million users, including 500,000 in Australia) this week made Australia one of the first two countries in the world to receive eBuddy XMS, its newest free smartphone app. eBuddy XMS sends real-time free SMS messages from any smartphone to any other smartphone--whether Android or iPhone and is integrated with Facebook. (A BlackBerry version is due out soon.)

Self-described human rights advocate, Privacy International, has raised the alarm about what it claims are severe security deficiencies in massively popular online phone and messaging service Skype. A major concern is the ease with which users can impersonate other users.

While some will ring in the new year with a kiss, others will be heavily texting, sending and receiving text messages at what is, as always, predicted to be the biggest number yet: 74 million text messages, 8 million more than last year!

Vodafone New Zealand has taken steps to combat cyberbullying that Australian telcos would do well to emulate: it has launched a free service that allows its mobile customers to easily block text and multimedia messages from any mobile number they choose.