In recent years, Google has strengthened its relationships with the media and proposed projects that enhance both the search engine and digital news platforms. One of the most recent projects, Google Web Stories, consists of audiovisual stories designed for smartphones.

The project is in its initial phase. It was first released in the United States, India, and Brazil to test its performance. Then, when it was extended to Argentina, VíaPaís included the development of these audiovisual stories in its daily routine.

The format resembles AMP stories and is also reminiscent of Instagram Stories. It consists of a series of slides where photos and videos are the most important aspect, accompanied by a short text.

In this case, the stories are displayed in a special carousel incorporated by Google Discover. From there, the user scrolls through an entertaining, interesting, and colourful story with journalistic content including 10+ slides in approximately one minute.

These visual narratives have the power to hook even the most impatient user by noting on the cover the number of slides they will see. For example, five movies based on a certain theme or 10 recommended places to visit in a city.

Also, recipes with a few steps are compatible with this format, since each one corresponds to a slide where a short video or a photo shows what to do. This is accompanied by words, which provide missing data or reinforces those on the images.

VíaPaís is a national media source and journalists write from their respective provinces, so regional recipes are one of its strong points in the Web stories. Other topics we explore in this media are fashion trends, fitness, gaming, and social networks, in addition to telling life stories.

A key factor that must be considered when planning stories is their permanence on the Web. While those on Instagram or Facebook disappear after 24 hours, these do not expire. They are published just like any journalistic article on our news Web site.

Google Web Stories are a cutting-edge project. Digital journalism is transformed minute by minute. Audiences have migrated in a very short time from the computer to the cell phone, and from reading articles to enjoying audiovisual experiences. Therefore, many media are betting on this project, and VíaPaís is one of them.

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