YouTube to Discontinue Stories Feature Amid Shift in Focus towards Short-Form Content

June 26, 2023, marks the end of an era for YouTube’s ephemeral content feature, Stories. The Google-owned video platform has announced that it will be discontinuing YouTube Stories as part of its efforts to focus on key areas like Shorts, Community posts, and live videos. This decision comes after nearly every social app copied the format, but ultimately failed to replicate its success.

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The Rise and Fall of Stories

Stories were first introduced by Snapchat in 2013, followed closely by Instagram in 2016. The concept was simple: a series of photos or videos that disappeared after a set period, allowing users to share quick, casual updates with their followers. YouTube launched its own version of Stories in 2018, but it never gained the same traction as its predecessors.

Limited Adoption and Focus Shift

Despite efforts to promote the feature, YouTube Stories saw limited adoption among creators. The company acknowledged this in a statement announcing the shutdown, noting that Community posts have proven to be more effective in driving engagement. In fact, among creators who used both Stories and Community posts, the latter drove "many times more comments and likes" compared to Stories.

The Rise of Shorts

As the popularity of short-form vertical video formats grew, particularly with TikTok’s rise, YouTube began to shift its focus towards this type of content. YouTube Shorts have proven to be a more successful format, driving increased engagement and subscriptions among creators who use it.

What This Means for Creators

Creators who frequently used Stories will receive notifications about the shutdown through various channels, including:

YouTube Studio: A notification will be sent to creators’ studio dashboard.
Help Center Content: Creators can check the help center for more information on this change.
Creator Insider Video: YouTube will publish an update in its regular Creator Insider video series.
Notification within Stories: If creators access the feature prior to June 26, they will receive a notification directly within Stories.

Impact on Other Social Apps

YouTube isn’t alone in abandoning Stories. Other platforms have also seen limited success with this format:

LinkedIn: Abandoned its Stories feature in 2021.
Netflix: Tested a similar feature called "Extras" but shifted focus to vertical video formats like Fast Laughs.
Spotify: Introduced a feature similar to Stories for artists’ profiles, but prioritizes TikTok-like discovery feeds.

Conclusion

As YouTube shifts its focus towards Shorts and Community posts, creators can expect more emphasis on engaging with their audience through traditional long-form content. While the shutdown of Stories marks the end of an era, it’s clear that other formats have proven to be more effective in driving engagement and success for both creators and platforms.