LinkedIn confirmed that it will soon be following Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat by adding its own stories feature.
Pete Davies, head of content products at LinkedIn, informed the community that stories are currently being tested in an effort to spark more conversation on the network.
“We’re never done meeting our members where their voices are. Last year, we started asking ourselves what Stories might look like in a professional context. Stories first appeared on Snapchat, with other platforms like Instagram and Facebook adopting them soon after. They spread for a good reason: they offer a lightweight, fun way to share an update without it having to be perfect or attached to your profile forever.”
That raises the question of how the lightheartedness of stories would translate to a professional social network like LinkedIn.
Davies suggests that, since many interactions at work are lighthearted in nature, stories would be an appropriate fit for LinkedIn.
“Does that exist in the business world? I’d hope that most of my interactions in the break room or passing people in the hall are similarly ephemeral and light. The same holds true for cubicle and coffee shop banter around the world: sometimes we want a way to just make a connection, have a laugh with our colleagues and move on.”
LinkedIn Stories are being tested internally, with plans to test the feature with actual LinkedIn users in the coming months.
Davies shares what the company has learned about utilizing stories in a professional context:
“… the sequencing of the Stories format is great for sharing key moments from work events, the full-screen narrative style makes it easy to share tips and tricks that help us work smarter, and the way Stories opens up new messaging threads makes it easier for someone to say, “and by the way… I noticed you know Linda, could you introduce me?””
Davies also brings up the fact that there’s currently an entire generation growing up using stories as their preferred method of online communication. So, in a sense, LinkedIn is future-proofing itself for tomorrow’s generation of professionals.
Whether people will actually use stories on LinkedIn is another question entirely. We’ll find out when this feature rolls out to users in the next few months.
Source: LinkedIn
