Microsoft has done a recent global study covering around 10,000 respondents across 32 different countries to assess the role of social media and research tools at the workplace. The study found that 46% of the people participating in the survey believed that the access to social media tools increased their productivity. The research also found that Indians use social media tools much more than their peers across the globe and about 71% of the Indian surveyed felt that social media and research tools increase productivity.

Pinterest on Friday released an update to its Android app on Google Play store. The update shows tall images bigger, and includes new boards that show where a pin has been repinned, simplifies pining content from external sites, and adds a number of fixes.

Pinterest's update to its Android app comes shortly after the company updated its iOS app, adding support for the latest iPhone 5 and new features such as support for pinning directly from the camera or Photo library on the iPad. The company had released its iPad and Android apps in August this year, alongside an updated v2.0 for the iPhone. Pinterest also opened up its service to the public, after keeping it as 'invite-only' for a while.

Well, the wait for Android fans ended on Tuesday. Pinterest officially launched an app for Android as well as iPad, and also launched an updated version of its iPhone app. Announced at a summer party at Pinterest’s new San Francisco headquarters, the Android app represents a complete redesign of the app from the ground up, this time designed specifically for Android.

The app has been in the works for some time, and was even rumored to be coming late last month at Google’s I/O developers conference.

In May, Pinterest raised $100 million in a round of funding that values the company at $1.5 billion. Originally an invite-only service, on Aug. 8 Pinterest went public for everyone without an invitation. Pinterest for Android is available now from Google Play. Pinterest for iPad and the updated iPhone app are also available now from the App Store.

Pinterest announced Wednesday that it began open registration, dropping its invite-only approach. Users can now sign up for the social photo sharing website without waiting for an invitation, according to Pinterest’s official blog. Prospective pinners can register using their email addresses, or log in with their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

The California-based company announced in late July the addition of new categories, including, “Quotes,” “Tattoos” and “Weddings,” which joined old standbys, “Food and Drink,” “Architecture” and “Home Decor.” Some category names were tweaked: “Pets” became “Animals,” and “Prints and Posters” is now “Illustrations and Posters.”

The site, a virtual pinboard where members organize and share photos of their favorite things, is one of the fastest-growing social networks online. Reports suggest that Pinterest is the third-largest social network in the U.S., behind only Facebook and Twitter. It is currently looking to expand into overseas markets, such as France, Germany and Japan. In May, Pinterest raised $100 million in a round of funding that values the company at $1.5 billion.

Lyst, a London-based startup, is a little like Pinterest. The site invites you to follow designers, stores, bloggers and your friends, from which it creates a feed of clothing and accessories you can add to your own “lyst.”
If an item on your lyst is discounted, you’ll be notified by email.

Now, if you connect your Pinterest account, you’ll receive an email notification when an item you’ve pinned on Pinterest goes on sale, too, so long as that item is also indexed on Lyst. Lyst’s index is limited largely to fashion brands and retailers — so if you mostly pin books or furniture, this tool isn’t going to be terribly useful to you.

A bonus: If an item you’ve pinned from one retailer (say, Neiman Marcus) goes on sale somewhere else, you’ll still get notified. Lyst also offers a Runway Tracking tool that lets you know when your favorite runway looks arrive in stores. The tool was launched during New York Fashion Week last September. The London-based startup is currently exploring additional methods for tracking the fashion goods you may be interested in purchasing.