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Creative visualization of data has always been something I was very interested. There are several examples on the web, which take interesting approaches to data visualization. One of the areas I am most interested in is the visualization of graphs, specifically the graphs of friends or related people (friend graph). Some developers or companies already worked on friend graph implementations but most of them just look good but aren’t really helpful. As we are currently working on a social networking website we wanted to have a look into this and see whether we could find a way to combine eye-candy with something useful.

Below, I’ve embedded a short video of our current version of the friend graph. Be aware that this is not a release version that contains debug output with test data.

Our graph currently features:
- Friends and friends of friends (FOAF)
- Connections between friends and friends of friends
- Filters (in development)
- Browsing history

(Sorry for the crappy quality)

This is the current status but we’re busy working on more features and a revamped interface (buttons etc.). We are currently focusing on the visualization of the friend graph within our network but due to Google’s Social Graph API and other initiatives there are almost endless possibilities when it comes to the visualization of friends or the complete social graph around a person.I will post updates as we progress.

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