Digg Launches Digg Labs

"A broader, deeper view of Digg"

JavaScriptSearch
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; 05:32 AM

Web 2.0 content submission site Digg launched Digg Labs -- a project that offers visitors early access to new Digg-related web technologies.  At its launch Digg Labs featured two web applications with impressive visuals, called Stack and Swarm. According to a blog post by site founder Kevin Rose, their goal is to offer better understanding of the patterns and trends generated by Digg's fast-growing membership.

Digg Stack shows stories and "diggs" (votes from visitors) appearing along the bottom of the screen, colored according to how popular they are. Diggs appear as falling blocks that stack up as activity increases. The zoom level is adjustable, and the visualization can be paused and explored in detail. Clicking on an individual item pulls up more information on that story.

Swarm shows stories as circles, with users "swarming" around them. As people digg more stories, they move from circle to circle, which in turn increase in size.  Stories start off placed randomly on the screen, but as they are dugg, they move accordingly to who is voting for them. Like in Stack, clicking on a story expands it to show the full title and a short description.

Both applications require JavaScript and an up-to-date Flash plugin. Note of caution: many Linux and Max OS X users have reported problems with viewing Digg Labs.

Digg Labs was created by San Francisco based design studio Stamen.  Reportedly, a public API is being developed, which will allow developers to use and tweak the applications.