Facebook has launched its latest 'Year in Review' video template, which enables users to create simple video summaries of their 2018 on-platform activity.
As you can see, the video takes highlights from your Facebook posts from the year and adds them to a generic template.
It seems kind of hokey, kind of cheesy, but evidently, a lot of people do like such reminders - Facebook has previously noted that more than 60 million users visit their personal "On This Day" page every day, while 155 million have opted to receive dedicated notifications for the feature.
Clearly, such reminders do help improve engagement - Snapchat, in fact, recently added a similar memories tool within its new Friendship Profiles element, while Instagram is also now reportedly testing 'On this day' reminders within Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories now has an ‘On this day’ feature
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) December 4, 2018
H/T @AshwiniDodani pic.twitter.com/nQbFSZKY4u
The power of nostalgia is strong, and Facebook's clearly looking to tap into that with its 'Year in Review' video option, which it's also offered previously, though they haven't released data on the tool's usage.
In addition to the new video option, Facebook has also provided some stats on the most discussed events and movements on the platform for the year.
- For the second year in a row, International Women’s Day was the most talked about moment of the year, with 'March for Our Lives' also generating a lot of conversation.
- More than 383 million soccer fans from around the world took to Facebook to discuss the World Cup, more than 62 million mentioned the Super Bowl and 42 million people engaged with content around The Royal Wedding.
- Facebook also notes that the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the passing of celebrities including Aretha Franklin, Stephen Hawking, and Anthony Bourdain also sparked millions of conversations and tributes across the network throughout the year.
It's certainly been a big year - both for Facebook and more broadly. It seems like it's gone by very fast, yet so much has happened.
If you want to capture the moment, and share your own Facebook 'Year in Review' video, you'll be able to access it here from December 10th.