How to create a basic message - notifications system displaying a real time message counter badge? I'm looking for a way to create a basic current user notifications system for my site, e.g.:


"some user" has created a new "group"
"some user" has joined your "group"
"some user" has posted a node in your "group"
"some user" has written a "review" for your "article"
"some user" has commented your "review"
etc...


I imagine this system as a simple menu link with a counter badge attached to it showing the number of new unread notifications just like this site or linkedin.com site.

When clicking upon this link current user will be directed to a page showing the user's new notifications and the counter will be then set to 0.

I believe what I need is the Heartbeat or Message module, combined maybe with Menu badges. But I'm not sure what to choose and how to start. Any advice?
For real time messages, you will need the Node.js integration module. You can use Heartbeat, the Taskbar and the Message modules together to show notifications.