Rumors had floated for weeks Google was negotiating to buy Digg.com for purposes of enhancing Google News. But it looks like Google is already integrating Digg-like features in a surprisingly open round of testing in the search results.
With Google’s slate of engineers, one wonders why they would buy a site if they could replicate the same idea. Imagine results created by users voting them up or down, results users can comment on and rate the comments of others.
TechCrunch gets credit for the scoop and the video demonstration of a new Google user interface being “bucket tested” by selected users.
“In effect, this bucket test shows a Google that combines their search algorithm with every important feature of Digg,” writes Mike Arrington. “It’s something they’ve been working on for nearly a year in various iterations, but this is the first time we’ve seen user comments, and the video shows details that you just can’t experience via screen shots.”
Due to a traditionally competitive environment, Google has a history of being tight-lipped about what it’s doing in the search sector. With said competitive environment quite obviously breaking under Google’s weight, perhaps the search giant—revealed this morning to have grabbed $1.10 for every new dollar spent in search—is willing to be more forthcoming without fear of losing competitive ground.
Arrington believes if the trial proves successful, Google’s social search feature could be moved to Google Labs for more extensive testing.
