We all know that Research In Motion, parent company of BlackBerry and still-in-existence PlayBook, has struggled lately in a world dominated by Apple and Android. In an effort to adapt to modern times, RIM has now made BlackBerry’s popular messaging service, BBM, compatible with Facebook and Twitter. So users will be able to use BBM as a sort of mega-client bit of software and post their urgent social updates all over the place.

This news comes on the heels of RIM’s reporting that sales of BlackBerry devices to the U.S. federal government are on the rise and that the device is a hit at the White House. You may recall the reluctance with which President Obama parted with his original BlackBerry after he was elected. The BBM feature has long been popular with governments and among top executives at big corporations because the security is really strong. It will be interesting to see if any new security questions are raised now that this new social integration is in place.