The next Stories format is on the brink of extinction. After Twitter, LinkedIn is now also pulling the plug on its Stories. The end of September is supposed to be the end, but the farewell doesn’t seem to be absolutely final.
LinkedIn Stories didn’t even get to experience their first birthday. Because the network is parting ways with what is probably the most copied format in the social networks even before this time has expired.
LinkedIn wants to “remove the current Stories experience at the end of September,” as product head Liz Li announced in a blog post.
What will become of LinkedIn Stories?
LinkedIn intended Stories to be a “fun and casual way” for its users to “share quick video updates.” Since its launch, however, the network has learned a lot in that regard, Li writes further.
With Stories, the network wanted to break down barriers. But among users, he says, there is more of a desire for videos not to disappear and to be immortalized in the profile.
It turns out you want to create long-lasting videos that tell your professional story in a more personal way, showcasing both your personality and expertise.
That’s why LinkedIn now wants to evolve the format. A new video concept is to be created “that is even richer and more conversational.”
While this new format is being created, the traditional stories will no longer circulate on LinkedIn. At the end of September, the format will be discontinued for the time being. However, it has not yet been determined when the innovations will come.
Not the first end for a Stories format
LinkedIn is not the first major network to part with its Stories format after a short time. It was only at the beginning of August that Twitter pulled the plug on its Fleets.
The reasons given by the two platforms are very similar: their users are apparently not as interested in ephemeral video content as expected.
However, this is unlikely to be the case for Story leader Snapchat and copycat Instagram for the time being. Here, the desire of users for the entertaining format seems to remain unbroken.
However, Twitter and LinkedIn also entered the Stories business rather late in comparison. Perhaps the Stories train had already sailed for their users.
