Facebook Releases Moviemaking App to Demystify Timeline

Facebook is being nearly as secretive about the release date of its Timeline format as it is about its IPO. But to prepare for the day when it flips the switch and turns Timeline on for all users -- not just the early adopters -- it has commissioned an app that creates a customized movie for every Facebook user in an effort to warm them up to Timeline. It's similar in format to the video Facebook made to introduce Timeline at the F8 conference in September featuring Andy Sparks. It's also similar in conception, if not in tone, to the viral smash Take This Lollipop, which uses Facebook user data to generate a horror-movie scenario by depicting an unhinged man scrolling through a user's Facebook history, pulling up Google Maps to look up their address and then taking off in his car. The app looks like an earnest attempt by Facebook to make Timeline into a less fearsome, or even an enticing, prospect for users who have been hesitant to opt into it. And while every product update Facebook rolls out seems to result in some backlash, the company has a lot riding on this one, with its IPO and potential $100 billion valuation hanging in the balance. In addition to reimagining the user experience by positioning Facebook as a utility that 's meant to be a catalogue of someone's entire life, Timeline is also a play to entice marketers to expand their footprint on the social network. For one thing, new apps released earlier this month are built to work with Timeline and document actions other than "likes" that users have taken on Facebook -- having "pinned" for Pinterest, or "bought" on Fab.com, for example. The broadening of Facebook's vocabulary through Timeline could make "sponsored stories" ad units, which are served to friends of users who engage with a brand, more appealing to marketers. Timeline Movie Maker will initially be available in English, French, Spanish and German, and will have five music soundtracks from which people can choose to create their minimovie. People can also customize their music selection, images, videos or check-ins at the end of the first automated video view.

Facebook Releases Moviemaking App to Demystify Timeline

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