Early in the morning today, Kevin Rose announced a major site redesign on digg. The changes include a fluid layout, a top 10 hottest stories list, a podcasting section, and most importantly, a concerted emphasis on video. I’m actually pretty happy about this, since I primarily go to digg for my intake of viral videos.

Nobody can deny the proliferation of online video within the past year. Time magazine has even named “You” as the person of the year, implying that YouTube has allowed everyone of us to easily broadcast ourselves. Watching these videos are millions of bored office workers needing a quick viral video fix during their five minute break. Online video has proven itself to be a huge industry, and, digg’s redesign addresses this.

Digg’s video section was originally located alongside the other categories. Now, it’s been prominently elevated to the top bar right next to News and Podcasts. I’m happy to see this division, because I don’t consider viral videos of your brother singing his rendition of the Backstreet Boys news.

For certain videos, you’re able to view the videos without leaving digg via a lightbox interface. Simply click the play button next to the video thumbnail and watch. The result? Users have easier access to the videos, and, will have a less likely chance of leaving digg.

Digg’s video section is definitely one of the fastest growing sections of the site, and, the redesign is a good response to the demand. I still find digg’s video portal into YouTube to be much more interesting and effective than YouTube’s own featured videos page. And, I’m one of the many people that are consuming YouTube via a third party site.

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Categories - Videos, Digg |