BlackBerry maker RIM (Research In Motion) has announced that its popular instant messaging (IM) application and social networking platform BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), has been officially entered into the latest edition of the Collins English Dictionary.

The Canadian smartphone and tablet maker stated that this announcement from Collins reinforces a myriad of recent cultural references to ‘BBM’, most recently from Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Moments after winning the 100m Olympic gold at London 2012, the world record holder gave a live television interview stating: “All I gotta do is thank a few people on my BBM with my congrats and that’s pretty much it”.

Created as a business messaging tool, BBM has grown to become a social network used by more than 56 million people around the globe, with 70% of users ‘BBMing’ on a daily basis to communicate with friends, family and colleagues. In South Africa alone, over 98% of BlackBerry customers utilise the BBM application.

T.A. McCann, VP of BBM and Social Communities at RIM commented: “The inclusion of BBM in the Collins English dictionary recognises its status as one of the world’s most popular mobile social networks. In recent years, the term ‘BBM’ has transcended its technological origins to become a brand that is part of the everyday language of millions of people all over the world.”

“The service itself continues to evolve, with ‘BBMers’ able to share content, create groups and even post status updates to other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter directly from the BBM app. We’re honoured that a word used daily by millions of our customers has been officially welcomed into the English language,” McCann concluded.