Cool Timeline API
I recently happened upon this intriguing little API that provides a nice interface for displaying events on a timeline. It was pretty easy to get my head around it and it's pretty easy to setup and use. It's got a Google Maps-like scrolling interface that is very intuitive. If you're not sure what a timeline looks like, you might want to jump straight to an example before continuing.
I've don't really like the standard options for browsing a blogs history which typically looks like this:
- January (10)
- February (5)
- March (11)
- ...
Kind of boring, right? So, as a proof of concept, I created a little test project to see what an RSS feed would look like in a timeline. Here's what it looks like for a busy RSS feed like Techmeme (or, view live demo):
RSS feeds don't typically output an entire history so this example isn't all that practical. However, if I had access to the database I could pull in all the posts to create a full blog timeline. As far as practical applications go, I can think of a number of other scenarios for using an interactive timeline over a plain old list:
- Displaying event logs
- Order tracking
- Live event blogging
- New user registration
- News tickers
- Twitter?
Take a look at the
Simile Timeline page if you would like more information, documentation, or some better examples. You can also download my little
test project/demo.