#MidweekMinute 7/12/17: Everyone's copying everyone else...

Today's #MidweekMinute reminds us that everything is just racing to become everything else... though a few truly new technologies are in the works.

Instagram adds video & photo responses to Stories:

You can now reply to Instagram Stories with photos and video (TechCrunch)

Instagram Gives Up, Goes Full-on Snapchat With Latest Update (NY Mag)

Now you can add a personal touch when replying to Instagram Stories (Techzim)

Instagram makes Stories more visual as it looks to keep users engaged (The Drum)

Snapchat "Paperclip" function lets users add links:

Snap now lets users add links to snaps, opening up a possible way of making money for users (CNBC)

Snapchat shifts policy to allow hyperlinks in posts (LA Times)

Facebook Bonfire app:

Facebook is building a Houseparty clone for live group video chat (The Verge)

Facebook's Response To A Significant, Emerging Threat (Seeking Alpha)

Facebook looks to social video to connect users (Business Insider)

Emoji Search:

War on words: Emoji search is spreading (Digiday)

Domino's ANYWARE (Domino's)

How It Works: Text Message a Pizza Emoji to Order Domino’s (Tatango)

VR Eye Tracking:

Agency Exec Sees Potential In VR Eye Tracking (MediaPost)

Facebook Jayden K. Smith hoax:

Jayden K Smith: Why you should ignore this Facebook hacker hoax (The Telegraph)

#MidweekMinute 7/5/17

On today's #MidweekMinute:

Further reading:

Twitter is looking for ways to let users flag fake news, offensive content (Washington Post)

Twitter Is Trying to Develop a New Feature That Would Combat Fake News (GQ)

Twitter Users Officially Hate the Idea of a “Fake-News” Button (Vanity Fair)

Facebook Is Changing Its News Feed Algorithm Again (Fortune/Reuters)

Facebook News Feed change demotes sketchy links overshared by spammers (TechCrunch)

Facebook is rolling out its ‘Find Wi-Fi’ feature worldwide (TechCrunch)

Facebook's Internet-delivering drone takes flight (The Arizona Republic)

Facebook’s internet-beaming drone completed its second test flight and landed ‘perfectly’ (Recode)

Facebook drone could one day provide global internet access (AP)

Snapchat bought the AR location intellectual property of startup Drop (TechCrunch)

Snapchat is forging ahead with geolocation services (Business Insider)

NEW! #MidweekMinute on Facebook

I'm doing something new on Facebook Live: I'll be doing a one-minute (yes, just one minute!) rundown of the latest social media news on Wednesdays. Here's today's effort, in which I totally blanked my chosen title/hashtag at the beginning:

For further information on these topics:

Instagram reveals radical redesign (Forbes)

LinkedIn's most-maligned feature is about to become your favorite tool (Inc.)

Why Pinterest doesn't want users to spend more time with the brand (Marketing Week)

Introducing Canva Print: a new way to bring your designs to life! (Canva Design School)