A Fluid Look at the News

[NVMojo]

02:00 AM Feb. 22, 2005 PT

Want to stay up on the latest news but think Google News is dry and boring? For something a little more visual, try 10x10. The site lets viewers scour the top headlines using photos, which combine to create a broad snapshot of the world every hour on the hour.

News at a glance has never been so literal, thanks to information architect Jonathan Harris, 25, creator of the site. 10x10 takes the most common words from major news outlets like BBC World Edition and New York Times International and couples them with pictures. The site lets users interactively search for the top stories by scrolling over pictures and the words associated with them.

"I think he is always looking for a new way to approach information with a new lens," said Jeremy Kahn, longtime friend and business partner. "People are viewing this information in a way they haven't before, which is why they come back."

The idea for 10x10's design and ever-changing content came to Harris while traveling in Greece. He started to wonder "what a moment in the world would look like," and it was from this question that he came up with the idea for 10x10. http://www.tenbyten.org/

Harris made his mark as an information artist with WordCount. This site takes the most commonly used words in the English language, with "the" and "of" ranked Nos. 1 and 2, all the way down to "conquistador" at 86,800, and lays them out for readers to view or search.

Although the information isn't new, the platform's minimalist aesthetic and fluid motion captured the attention of many, including the American Institute of Graphic Arts, which gave WordCount an award for Information Design in 2003. The institute notes, as Harris does, that observing closely ranked words tells us a great deal about our culture. For instance, "God" is one word from "began," two words from "start" and six words from "war."

more...

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66612,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3

[Damien]

1. that's screwy

are news is so shallow already -- I can't see this helping.

Any other thoughts?

[NVMojo]

2. hmmm, I couldn't find anything about Gannon on there, surprise, surprise!

MSM!

[RobertSeattle]

3. My first reaction....Someone has way to much time on their hands!

[Kimber Scott]

4. I like it. Interesting look at the world in pictures hour by hour. I

wonder though, why so many of the same pictures lead to different stories.

[hangemhigh]

5. Way cool, thanks for the link. nt