Last month, Facebook announced that Open Graph was open for business with over 60 apps already integrated and capable of publishing rich detail to users’ Timelines using the Open Graph. The notion that the apps I use can tell my story is pretty compelling.

Facebook Timeline

An Excerpt from the Feltron Corp's 2009 Annual Report

When I first saw screenshots of the first apps that integrated Open Graph activity with the Timeline I immediately thought of the Feltron Annual report, something I learned about in an episode of the 99% Invisible podcast:

Nicholas Felton is an information designer. Since 2005, he has tabulated thousands upon thousands of tiny measurements in his life and designed stunning graphs and maps and created concise infographics that detail that year’s activities. The results were originally intended for his friends and family, but the “personal annual reports” have found an audience with fellow designers and people that really geek out on seeing lots of data, beautifully presented.

In 2010, Nicholas Felton’s father passed away, and Felton decided to turn his annual report into a full biography of his father. He took 4,348 of his father’s personal records and created an intimate portrait of a man, using only the data he left behind.

Felton’s reports present the minutiae that make up everyday life with wit and beauty. As more services provide rich detail to Facebook’s Open Graph, maybe Timeline will too.

99% Invisible is “a tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world.” You should listen to it.

Steve Hallman is the Principal Software Engineer at Digital Influence Group. Follow him on Twitter @hallman76 or find him at technical events in Boston.