Oh I hate them so much! I know that JustAbout is about positive content, so I hope the following message is OK, but unfortunately I have the same reaction to those Wrapped graphics as I do when my town sets up every single Christmas light in early November: you missed the point!
Allow me to explain.
Not only do they remind me that nothing is private and that all I do is dissected for the economic growth of people who don't have my best interest at heart, but... I don't think the metrics mean anything at all. Yes, you've listened to that song 700 times. Why, though? Is it because it makes your brain go brrrr? Is it because you wanted to annoy your neighbour? Is it because you had to babysit a small child whose brain it made go brrr? Did you have a really bad breakup in March that you're so happy to be reminded of in December because what you listened to then completely skewed your Wrapped? And most importantly, how many peanuts was the original artist paid for those 700 listens?
And as someone who makes little videos, I'm always happy to know I've had views! But knowing that a specific video has been watched that many times by the same person or collectively doesn't tell me much. Is it because I shared some really cool insight? Or is it because my accent is atrocious and they couldn't understand a specific segment? Or maybe some Big Account reshared it on social media? Did viewers replay it to make fun of it in front of their friend, or because they thought it was really cool? Those are the insights that would be useful to me, as the one who made the video.
I also feel like... the numbers flatten the experience. Even if you did sit there at your desk passively consuming those 700 listens of the same songs, your feelings, your inner world, was a little different each time. And what of the time you listened to it on the bus, and the sunset was magnificent? What of the time you were at the store and the employee told you they stopped selling your favourite treat? What of the time you sent the song to someone, and they reacted exactly in the way you hoped they would? This is what your year was made of-- the sunset, the change in plans, the different ways you connected with people. The song stayed the same during its 700 listens, but you changed. To me, that's what matters.
