Creativity (@creativitymag) reports that The New York Times (@nytimes) has launched beta620 (@beta620), a site that highlights experimental and ongoing projects at NYTimes.com. It’ll also be a crowdsourced venture, where Times readers can offer feedback and ideas – taking, essentially, formerly live events and making them virtual. The "620" refers to the Times' street address on Eighth Avenue in New York.
It’s similar to Google Labs, Google's experimental playground that shuttered last month, where users could suggest projects and Googlers could share what they were working on. At the Times, just like Google, some ideas may be turned into real products.
Read the Creativity coverage in full.
Nat Ives (@natives), media editor at Advertising Age, describes the 7 projects beta620 has launched with for consumers to try out and comment on:
- The Buzz, which shows how much traction Times articles are getting on social media
- Times Companion, which lets you summon information on topics in the article you're reading without taking you away from the page
- TimesInstant, a search page that shows results as you type
- Smart Search Bar, which sorts results and displays them without taking you away from the page you're on
- NYTimes Crossword Web App, an HTML 5 version of the puzzle's aging digital versions
- Longitude, which plots the day's Times articles on an interactive Google map
- Community Hub, a dashboard featuring stats on your comment history, a feed of comments on Times articles and, soon, Facebook friends' comments.
Read the AdAge coverage in full.
Should your website host a crowdsource section to test new publishing ventures?