I think the hover is a neat idea, it keeps it out of the way, but available if curiosity strikes you.

I feel it would also be useful to hate a date, IE: "Status was set on #/#/####" maybe on the profile page? It would make it simple then to just say "Gone for 7 days" etc. Though I'm just bouncing ideas around.

I'd like to see the return of the "color titles" rewards for participating in, and winning, the contests. But rather than just have a set colored titled, the user has the ability to freely customize the colors and change it around on a whim. Albiet I'm not sure how that worked in the first place (I never won :P)