Google is reportedly planning to debut a new initiative called “Stamp” next week, which aims to create what industry watchers describe as a Snapchat Discover-like feature that would allow publishers to produce media content with a major focus on its visual appeal, exactly like Snapchat’s tool for keeping tabs with the latest events that matter to you. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, which quoted insiders briefed on Google’s plan, the Mountain View, California-based company has started talking to a number of publishers such as CNN, Vox Media, The Washington Post, Mic and TIME, all of whom the search giant wants to take part in the initiative.
According to the report, the Stamp effort will be powered by Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project to provide a major benefit to users as AMP web pages are designed to load more rapidly than a typical page. The search giant is also making sure that Stamp would be immediately visible to all by baking it into Google Search, though it is not immediately clear in what specific area of the search engine the upcoming feature would sit as well as how it would be displayed. It is possible that the feature could be placed at the bottom of Google’s search results as it looks more convenient that way for mobile users. But more to the point, Google has already been providing recommendations for some topics that are relevant to a user’s search in that area of the search results page, so it is likely that Google would also utilize that space for Stamp stories to show up. Insiders also revealed that the Stamp stories may consist of slides that readers can swipe.
The stories could also possibly come in the form of texts, photos and videos, according to the report, but what substantially sets Stamp stories apart from Snapchat Discover is the fact that the media content may also appear on the website of a publisher in addition to Google’s search results page, significantly increasing the exposure of stories. While Stamp stories seem to be taking on Snapchat Discover, Google also appears to be developing a direct rival to Facebook Instant Articles, which works to disseminate news and other information from publishers to its large user base. More updates about Google’s upcoming media content creation service should emerge in the coming weeks.