Digg bar arrives, bringing extra functionality

Digg bar available by putting digg.com/ in front of any URL
Digg bar available by putting digg.com/ in front of any URL

Digg has launched an innovative Digg bar service, which allows Digg functionality from any webpage by merely typing digg.com/ in front of the URL.

Digg is one of the most successful aggregator sites in the world, with people submitting their favourite webpages and allowing other people to either 'Digg' it or bury it.

Digg it

The arrival of a Digg bar, which operates without any installation but still needs a Digg account to be able to submit or comment on stories.

The addition service brings functionality through the browser, an increasingly common phenomenon that is popular with developers and users alike.

Digg's bar also brings a 'short URL' system, making the page's web address much shorter in order to make it easier to post to social networking sites like Twitter, and intriguingly, also shows the total number of views rather than merely the amount of Diggs an article has got.

Mo' functionality

Digg founder Kevin Rose explains more on the a Digg blog post: The DiggBar allows you to:

  • Digg directly on the destination site: No more awkward toggling between the story page and Digg.
  • Easily share stories: You can now create a shortened Digg URL to share on Twitter, Facebook or via email. You can also type digg.com/ before the URL of any page you're on to create a short URL.
  • Access additional analytics: See how many times a story has been viewed.
  • View comments while on the story page: Clicking the 'Comments' button expands the DiggBar to show the top comment, latest comment, and most controversial without leaving the page.
  • Discover related stories: Clicking the 'Related' button expands the DiggBar to highlight similar stories.
  • See more stories from the same source: Clicking the 'Source' button expands the DiggBar to show you more Digg stories from that source site.
  • Discover random stories: Click the 'Random' button and you'll be brought to an entirely new, unexpected story.
Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.