Don't lose this. (Photo: Hashgram)

Expect a marked drop in "running 15 late sorrrrrrryyyy don't hate meee :(" texts thanks to a new feature on Google Maps that shows real-time travel updates on its desktop and mobile products.

Google is getting timelier information by pulling from the MTA’s open data program. However the improved intel is only available for numbered lines (sans the 7) and the Times Square Shuttle thus far. If you are dependent on perpetually infuriating lettered trains like, for example, the C, you are out of luck.

Riders can now view when the next train will arrive, trip duration, and arguably the most servicey feature of all: telling users of any delays or cancellations.

The updated data on Google Maps is the same info riders see on the (occasionally accurate) countdown clocks on subway platforms. Before incorporating open data from the MTA, Google Maps based its estimates on scheduled departure times rather real-time information.

Of course, Google isn’t the first company to use the data (apps such as Roadify, and NextStop have used it for awhile), but the Wall Street Journal calls it "the biggest endorsement yet" for the agency's open data experiment.

Google Maps manager (and self-proclaimed subway rider) Soufi Esmaeilzadeh wrote in a blog post that they want you (personally!) to have “access to the most comprehensive, accurate, and useful information.” Thanks, girl!  Similar travel information is now available in Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City, the post explained.

Now that our travel routine has been revolutionized, when is GOOG the Beneficent gonna gift us with more underground Wifi?

(Photo: Instagram)

"Rage Against Rules," declares a bolded headline in The New York Post today, which collected stats from App Data to paint a portrait of a flailing Instagram. The Post claims that following the terms of service debacle, which supposedly had both normals and celebrities fleeing the app, Instagram's total active users has plunged 25 percent.

The app reportedly peaked at 16.4 million daily active users the week of Dec. 17, but has decreased to 12.4 million as of Dec. 27.

“[We are] pretty sure the decline in Instagram users was due to the terms of service announcement," a spokesperson for AppData told the Post.

However, as Quartz reminds everyone, AppData only collects information on a subset of Instagram users: those who have connected their Facebook account. Thus, "The claim that Instagram has lost a quarter of its users isn’t supported by this data." What's more despite the well-documented outrage, it seems unlikely that a dip in daily active users, even those who connect through Facebook, is due to Instagram's terms of service fumble. The TOS change was on the 17th and the decline shown by AppData doesn't happen until Christmas.

Couldn't it be that, due to the holidays, people are actually spending time with their families, disconnecting from their devices and trying to, like, enjoy relaxing without documenting every single moment? From the looks of our own Instagram feed, it certainly is moving at a slower pace than usual, barring the occasional snap of smiling families and freshly unwrapped presents.

In fact, Instagram isn't alone in bleeding daily active users this week. The Next Web reports that many Facebook-connected apps have seen drops in users this week, including Spotify (9.9 percent down), Farmville (15.5 percent down) and Pinterest (27.5 percent down).

Perhaps we all need to take another sip of that spiked eggnog and be thankful people are still capable of disconnecting from the Facebook apps that dominate our lives every other week of the year.

Challenge: Good AC on the A/C please

Crowdsourced fund raising platforms are in vogue right now. We've written a lot about the growing success of Kickstarter and yesterday we posted about Quirky raising a $16 million B round. Today Peter Kafka reports that ChallengePost has raised $4 million.

In a way a ChallengePost is an inversion of the Kickstarter model. The two year old start-up helps companies and non-profits run "challenges" that pay prizes to the crowd for solving problems. Investors include betaworks, Delicious’ Joshua Schachter and Mahalo’s Jason Calacanis.

The company is looking to expand from a two man operation to a 14 person team, just another sign that tech companies with venture money in the bank could be the one bright spot left in a double dip recession.

So far ChallengePost has offered more than $40 million in prizes and is being used by Michele Obama and the City of New York. Right now the MTA is offering $15,000 in prizes through the site to software developers who can use city data to create apps that will improve the transit system. But wait, that not all. One lucky grand prize winner will also receive:

• Custom 5’ Subway Sign by Underground Signs ($325.00)
• iMac and iPad Cases by NYC Subway Line ($60-$70)
• Rug of your choice from Concord Global ($40-$125)
• Subway T-Shirt by Okey-Dokey ($20.00)

Hmmm, you know what might actually attract great developer talent?A free, unlimited Metrocard. For life.