Welcome to the future of mobile storytelling.
Ever since Snapchat first introduced its Stories feature in late 2013, we’ve seen countless companies try and mimic the same formula with their own services. Following in the footsteps of Instagram, Facebook, and more, Google is the latest company to dip its toes in these waters.
Before you grab your torches and pitchforks, this doesn’t mean that Google is trying to launch its own social network where you share stories of yourself. Instead, Google’s AMP Stories is being created specifically for content publishers like CNN, The Washington Post, and others so they can share news and articles in a style that’s more interactive and mobile-friendly.
As the name of AMP Stories suggests, the technology is based on Google’s AMP platform that’s dedicated to making your mobile web-browsing experience as fast as possible. AMP Stories can be linked to main websites for these publishers, and they’ll slowly start to show up in your Google Search results along with traditional URLs.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zcYgQhH5TE?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
Anyone can start creating AMP Stories for their website today, and right now you can view a variety of different ones from CNN, Mic, Cosmopolitan, and others. AMP Stories are currently only viewable on smartphones, but Google wants to expand them to desktops and laptops in the near future.
The Stories format is one that’s picked up a lot of steam over the past couple years, and it’ll be immensely interesting to see how people take to them showing up in their online searches. I personally enjoy watching them from time to time, but Google’s going to need to walk a fine line with their promotion to ensure that they’re visible without overtaking regular search results.
Are you excited for the launch of Stories within Google Search?
Stories are coming to YouTube as part of expanded Community feature
