Facebook has launched a brand new site to “share some of the most extraordinary, quirky and thought-provoking stories” from the social network's 950 million users.

Facebook Stories

The site, called Facebook Stories, will feature stories each month around a different theme, highlighting individuals who use the social network in innovative ways.

The first month is centered around the theme of remembering, and features a video telling the story of Mayank Sharma, a man who lost his memory and used Facebook's “people you may know” feature to rediscover his personal history.

Users can submit their own stories for the chance to be featured on the site, though Facebook ultimately selects what to highlight.

Music and words

Facebook Stories will include regular features every month, such as a list of books and articles related to the current theme, plus a Spotify playlist with tracks curated by prominent artists.

This month, the bookshelf includes five titles selected by U.S. Memory Championship winner Joshua Foer. The Spotify playlist was curated by electronic artist Ashley Charles, who mixes under the name Sabrepulse, and the reading list highlights a selection of stories from The New Yorker about memory.

“It's meant to celebrate the people who connect and share in innovative ways to accomplish things that would be otherwise impossible,” a Facebook representative said in a statement.

“By spotlighting these stories, we hope to inspire people to find new uses for these technologies within their own lives.”

Infographics

Another monthly feature is the infographic, which is updated each month to match the theme. The infographic for August shows how Facebook users share major memories such as traveling, getting married, or having a baby.

Based on an analysis of life events on users' timelines, Facebook found that people most often share stories about travel, followed by moving, dating, getting married, having babies, and getting engaged.

Old Stories

Facebook launched a similar project back in 2010, also called Facebook Stories. The offering was an app that highlighted the impact the social network had on people's lives, but was withdrawn last year.

Advertising Opportunities

Facebook Stories provides an interesting opportunity to advertisers, given its uplifting content and potentially wide audience.

Human-interest stories with a positive spin have the potential to go viral sooner and stay active longer than traditional news articles. Given that there's no need for a user to own or login to a Facebook account to read or make a contributing story, the company can now earn from Facebook and web-based users.

The first month's stories were handpicked by Facebook, but future editions will include submissions from users.

Those who think they might have an interesting story to share with the world via Facebook Stories can submit theirs through an online form.