diff --git a/jquery.timeago.js b/jquery.timeago.js
index 54da8af..fb00723 100644
--- a/jquery.timeago.js
+++ b/jquery.timeago.js
@@ -117,16 +117,35 @@
     }
   });
 
-  $.fn.timeago = function() {
-    var self = this;
-    self.each(refresh);
+    // functions that can be called via $(el).timeago('action')
+    // init is default when no action is given
+    // functions are called with context of a single element
+    var functions = {
+      init: function(){
+        var refresh_el = $.proxy(refresh, this);
+        refresh_el();
+        var $s = $t.settings;
+        if ($s.refreshMillis > 0) {
+          setInterval(refresh_el, $s.refreshMillis);
+        }
+      },
+      update: function(time){
+        $(this).data('timeago', { datetime: $t.parse(time) });
+        refresh.apply(this);
+      }
+    };
 
-    var $s = $t.settings;
-    if ($s.refreshMillis > 0) {
-      setInterval(function() { self.each(refresh); }, $s.refreshMillis);
-    }
-    return self;
-  };
+    $.fn.timeago = function(action, options) {
+      var fn = action ? functions[action] : functions.init;
+      if(!fn){
+        throw new Error("Unknown function name '"+ action +"' for timeago");
+      }
+      // each over objects here and call the requested function
+      this.each(function(){
+          fn.call(this, options);
+      });
+      return this;
+    };
 
   function refresh() {
     var data = prepareData(this);