Did you travel in 2013? Perhaps you went to Disneyland. Or maybe you met someone special or watched the Super Bowl. Those moments of commonality are being highlighted by Facebook, which today released its list of the year's most popular topics, events and places.
After we spent a few moments reviewing the most common life events people reported in 2013, the list reads a bit like a 10-sentence short story — perhaps a fable or a coming-of-age tale.
See what you think: Here are the events Facebook says "people added to their Timeline most frequently in 2013."
1. Added a relationship, got engaged or got married
2. Traveled
3. Moved
4. Ended a relationship
5. First met a friend
6. Added a family member, expecting a baby or had a baby
7. Got a pet
8. Lost a loved one
9. Got a piercing
10. Quit a habit
On a more individual level, if you're the sort of person who goes through life logged in to Facebook, this link should take you to the site's review of events in your life this year. Prepare to be moderately creeped out by a computer's parsing of your experiences.
The list above reflects events worldwide; Facebook released the data today, along with snapshots of various countries and other data, including popular topics for updates and the top locations for "check-ins" at a particular geographic spot.
Two lists focused on people's favorite to discuss on Facebook — in the United States and worldwide.
Most Talked About Topics In The U.S.
1. Super Bowl
2. Government Shutdown
3. Boston Marathon
4. Syria Crisis
5. Harlem Shake
6. Pope Francis
7. George Zimmerman
8. Royal Baby
9. Nelson Mandela
10. Presidential Inauguration
11. NBA Finals
12. Kim Kardashian
13. Miley Cyrus
14. James Gandolfini
15. Meteor Sighting
Most Talked About Topics Worldwide
1. Pope Francis
2. Election [includes all campaigns]
3. Royal Baby
4. Typhoon
5. Margaret Thatcher
6. Harlem Shake
7. Miley Cyrus
8. Boston Marathon
9. Tour de France
10. Nelson Mandela
We'll note that the Harlem Shake was particularly popular in Poland — in fact, it was bigger than anything else in the country, coming in at No. 1.
Here's the list of the most popular spots to check in on Facebook in the United States. Of course, these places aren't necessarily the ones Americans visited the most — in a sense, they're the ones people most wanted others to know they'd been to.
U.S. Top Check-Ins
1. Disneyland & Disney California Adventure (Anaheim, Calif.)
2. Times Square (New York)
3. Epcot – Walt Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, Fla.)
4. Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)
5. AT&T Park (San Francisco)
6. Rangers Ballpark (Arlington, Texas)
7. Universal Studios Hollywood (Universal City, Calif.)
8. Fenway Park (Boston)
9. MGM Grand Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas)
10. Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo (Houston, Texas)
On Facebook's list of hot spots worldwide, Disneyland was No. 1 in three other locations: France, Japan and Hong Kong. In Russia, the place to be was Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure.
And some of the global check-ins reflected large national events. For instance, the most popular spot in Turkey was Taksim Square, the epicenter of anti-government protests in Istanbul.
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