Digg Gets Videos and Podcasting

Expanding its coverage, the insanely popular social news site Digg has announced a major facelift along with couple of new features, which includes videos and Podcasting.

With the increase in broadband coverage, more and more people are being addicted towards watching videos online. And Digg is trying to tap this potential by utilizing resources from other video hosting sites such as YouTube, Google Videos and MetaCafe. Users can play videos directly on Digg in a AJAX lightbox (see the screenshot below). We can call it ‘The YouTube-ization of Digg’

“Top 10 Stories” is yet another significant change visible on Digg’s sidebar, it displays the hottest stories (even those which have fallen off homepage, but are receiving good number of votes and comments).

Opps, I almost forgot to tell you about Digg’s Podcasting section. Users can now submit and digg their favorite podcasts series or individual episode. This is a place to share all your favorite podcasts and join discussions related to podcasts.

This is what Kevin Rose posted on Digg Blog yesterday:

Interface Design, Digg Goes Widescreen
We’ve gone from a fixed width layout to a flexible one allowing you to make use of your screen real-estate on larger monitors. Navigation has also been moved to the top allowing you to quickly switch between sections.

Top 10 Stories/Videos
Digg stories move fast, so we’ve created a quick view of the top 10 hottest on Digg, updated in real time. This list changes as other stories accelerate in Diggs – so make sure to check it often. Think of this as your quick pulse of what’s hot in any given section.

Videos Enhancements
Aside from giving Videos their own position in the top navigation, we have added a couple cool features: Top 10 hottest videos, and on-Digg video previews. Simply click any video with a play icon to get lightbox window in which you can preview and Digg the video.

Podcasting
Now you can Digg your favorite podcast series and individual podcast episodes. Not only can you see a list of the most popular podcasts by section, you can also dive into any individual podcasts to see the most Dugg individual episodes. And don’t forget – every time you Digg a podcast or podcast episode that is bookmarked in your profile and shared with your friends.

Profile Enhancements
Now quickly jump between your Dugg News, Videos, or Podcasts. With three separate sections we make it easy to sort through your own Diggs or the Diggs from your friends using the friends tab.

Screenshot:

Most Digg users have welcomed the change, but at the sametime they are also complaining that Digg has terribly slowed down.

Michael Arrington from TechCrunch spoke to Kevin Rose and his teammates (Jay Adelson & Mike Maser), discussing the new change and how Digg acquired Spike The Vote. You can download the podcast here

Screenshot from TechCrunch