#MidweekMinute 3/14/18: Blue checks all around!

Twitter's Jack Dorsey considers verifying ALL actual, human Twitter users, thus changing that little blue check mark from a badge of importance to a mark of authenticity; Facebook pulls data-mining App Lock app, plans to roll out a News for Watch, adds yet another music licensing deal (this time with Warner), rolls out location-based AR experiences, and might be introducing disappearing Messenger massages (a la Snap); Snapchat adds user-generated AR lenses to their filter carousel, adds Instagram-style tagging in stories, and allows branded ads from Explore publishers; Snapchat and Instagram take down GIPHY temporarily after a racist GIF made its way into the library; Instagram's algorithm might be veering more towards the chronological again; Microsoft Pix app scans business cards to automatically add the user to your LinkedIn network; LinkedIn beefs up their business news; Brian Wallace of NowSourcing reports live from his ninth(!) SXSW, which, like social media, has made a noticeable shift from flashiness to actual human interaction & value (I can't wait to go next year!!!).

I'm trying something new this week. Instead of a bunch of links in a blog post, I'm embedding a Flipboard custom magazine into my #MidweekMinute. Let me know if you like this format or the old one better!

View my Flipboard Magazine.

#MidweekMinute: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Facebook tries to replace Yelp, Foursquare, and - as always - Snapchat. High on the 280-character-limit raise, Twitter's also raising another limit, and hoping you'll trust them to allocate your money. Instagram is testing out a feature that bots have been using for years, and LinkedIn wants the final WORD on your resume.

Facebook Local

Facebook relaunches Events app as Facebook Local, adds bars and food (TechCrunch)

Facebook Local is the social network’s stab at Yelp, Foursquare (Marketing Land)

Facebook Local Relaunches, Makes It Easier To Browse Events, Listings (MediaPost

Facebook Collaborative Stories

Facebook Stories replaces Messenger Day with synced cross-posting (TechCrunch)

Facebook launches collaborative Stories for Groups and Events (TechCrunch)

Facebook is killing Messenger Day and consolidating it with Facebook Stories (The Verge)

Twitter Name Length Now 50 Characters

Twitter bumps display name length up to 50 characters (The Verge)

Twitter expands display name length to 50 character (Engadget)

Twitter, high on 280 characters, more than doubles the length of display names (Mashable)

Twitter $99 Ad Subscriptions Service

Twitter Tempts Small Marketers With a $99-per-Month Ad Subscription (Ad Age)

Twitter’s $99 monthly subscription ad program launches into public beta (TechCrunch)

Twitter launches $99 subscription tool to promote tweets (Engadget)

Instagram Will Let Users Follow Hashtags

Instagram could let you follow hashtags soon (TechCrunch)

Instagram may soon let you follow hashtags (Express Newsline)

Instagram will soon let users follow hashtags in addition to accounts (Digital Trends)

Microsoft and LinkedIn Resume Assistant

Microsoft adds AI-powered LinkedIn resume assistant to Word (Engadget)

Microsoft integrates LinkedIn with Word to help you write a resume (The Verge)

Microsoft and LinkedIn Team Up to Make Writing Your Resume a Lot Easier (and Your Results a Lot Better) (Inc)

MidweekMinute: now expanding to 2:80 (just kidding)

After a bit of a break, I'm back to a weekly #MidweekMinute! Did you miss me? This week's is coming at you LIVE from the #INBOUND17 conference in Boston! (To catch up with my conference learnings, check out my Twitter feed or stay tuned next week for blog posts of my Storify threads).

This week's top stories that fit into a minute:

Twitter doubles character limit from 140 to 280:

Giving you more characters to express yourself (Twitter blog)
Twitter just doubled the character limit for tweets to 280 (The Verge)

7 Questions About Twitter's Doubled Character Limit (The Atlantic)

Pinterest/Target visual search teamup:

Pinterest's Lens tech powers Target's visual search tool (Engadget)

Target Embedding Pinterest Camera Search Tool in Its App (The Wall Street Journal)

Instagram commenting settings:

Instagram Lets You Limit Comments Just To People You Follow (BuzzFeed News)

Instagram: Here’s How to Stop Users From Commenting On a Post (Adweek)

LinkedIn/Microsoft Office 365 profile integration:

LinkedIn profiles are coming soon to your Microsoft work apps (TheNextWeb)

Microsoft finally starts doing something with LinkedIn by integrating it into Office 365 (TechCrunch)

Social - Brian Tietje of LinkedIn

Thanks so much to Brian Tietje, global client director for LinkedIn, for appearing on this week's edition of Social with Christine Gritmon! Great conversation about engaging with your network, how different social media platforms have influenced each other, and new developments for LinkedIn (both recent and upcoming).