This week's 'Skim: Google decided to become the world's biggest job search platform; Snapchat introduces location-sharing maps to encourage users to meet up in real life; Music.ly's makes a foray into original programming with big partners that you'll need to pay attention to; LinkedIn makes comments more expressive; Instagram Stories user growth skyrockets. Also: how to add links to your brand's Instagram Stories; America's love for GIFs and their 30th anniversary; and much more...

Skim for your weekly social media briefing!

1. Google decided to become the world's largest job board last week

No more need to scour countless job websites like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Monster to make sure you're seeing the latest job postings and matching your needs. Google just did it for you.

The Internet giant added some features to its search so that it now aggregates job listings from all those sites, and it can even set up alerts and email notifications for users, all under the umbrella "Google for Jobs."

Google says it's not paying to index the job listings, and that monetization, aside from regular ads, isn't currently in the works. We'll see how long that lasts.

2. Snapchat releases new location-sharing map feature

It's called Snap Map, and it's a new way for users of Snapchat to meet up IRL (in real life) by enabling location-sharing, making users appear on the map for friends to see. Snap suggests the new feature is meant to help users discover and get inspired to go on new adventures. Those with privacy concerns can either disable it completely or temporarily block it via Ghost Mode.

Snap Maps will also incorporate location-based Stories, meaning users now have another way to discover snaps they might otherwise never see unless they dig into the other buried features of the app.

The Snap Map rolled out to all Android and iOS users on Wednesday, so check out the video to see how it works:

3. Music.ly enters original content game with Viacom, NBCUniversal, and Hearst

The music-based social network where users create, share, and discover short music videos, is working on original content with the likes of Viacom and NBCUniversal.

Music.ly members create and share content all the time—often with their faces on camera—so it makes sense that the original content plans be interactive: Users respond to the shows with personal responses using hashtags.

For now, Music.ly's 500 million users won't be exposed to ads during the programs, nor has the app paid publishers to create the shows, but we can certainly consider it a significant test for the viability of Music.ly in today's race toward social network TV-like shows.

4. LinkedIn users can now add images to their comments

Although the social network's senior director of corporate and product communications makes it sound like LinkedIn's invented the next Snapchat Story, the ability for users to add images to comments on LinkedIn is indeed a notable change for the social network, and brands should take note.

Users can now provide more detail—whether infographic screenshots or bits of a whitepaper—that help engage others on posts and illustrate their contributions or questions.

5. It looks like the Snapchat stock skeptics may have been right

After briefly trading at over $25 per share, Snap Inc.'s stock price fell to its IPO level of $17 last week, a sign investors continue to be nervous about the app's sluggish user growth.

As has been the case with Twitter, such struggles could lead the social network from being able to attract top talent, which might be why Snap has itself commissioned studies to highlight how engaged—and thus valuable—its users are.

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#SocialSkim: Google Aggregates Job Listings, Snapchat's Location-Sharing: 10 Stories This Week

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Christian Neri

Christian Neri is a digital marketing professional in the film & television industry, and a contributor to MarketingProfs. An American expat in Paris, he recently completed his MS in digital marketing at IÉSEG School of Management.

Instagram: @christianneri

Twitter: @christianneri