Facebook is asking some of its users to create a new kind of birthday greeting, one with more of a personal touch. Rather than the generic repetition of brief text messages from hundreds of Facebook friends, this new option lets users create a video up to 20 seconds in length. This is only available for some iOS users at the moment, although other operating systems like Android are likely to follow (as reported by TheNextWeb).

Birthday videos may be the start of a new focus for the social site, a move toward more personal input. Creating videos takes a bit of added effort on the user’s part, and the clips hopefully would convey greater meaning than a text message, not to mention the chance for genuine sentiment.

For those able to test the feature, the page for birthday listings now has an icon of an old-fashioned movie camera, complete with double film reels on top — an interesting choice for a digital function yet easily recognizable. Just click the icon to record your message. You can also review the video before posting it to the recipient’s page.

This attempt to bring more feeling to Facebook birthday greetings could be a welcome change. It shows more input on the sender’s part and can certainly convey more than something like, “Happy Birthday, hope you have a great day!!” However, it won’t necessarily cut down on the considerable stream of greetings that users with high numbers of friends are likely to receive. Worse, those videos risk getting lost in that endless stream, wasting the effort put into them. Someone could also end up with a plethora of videos as meaningless as generic texts, video versions of “You’re the best, have a great day!” that require more time to review.

Traditional birthday cards (the paper kind sent through traditional mail) may seem old-fashioned to some, but they’re unmatched for conveying feeling. In a digital age where everything moves faster and faster, including the generic birthday greeting, sending a traditional card says so much more.

Life for many has become a harried, multitasked blur. Hurry along to the next thing or you might miss out. The problem is that such a pace doesn’t allow time to savor anything, to reflect or to truly enjoy. Imagine the surprise and appreciation when your most “connected” friend or family member receives a card in the mail. Whether funny or sentimental, a traditional card shows that you took the time to go to the store (online or brick & mortar), to pick out the perfect greeting and to write a message; even if it’s a brief message, it still involves more than a digital click. Taking the time to convey your feelings with a traditional card could make all the difference in someone’s day.