BBC Debuts ‘Taster’ Platform To Test New Digital Ideas

The BBC would like to hear what you think of some of its newest, most experimental digital projects. The UK-based broadcasting company has launched Taster, a platform for the 92-year-old broadcaster to try out new ideas and receive user feedback on which it should turn into fully-formed initiatives.

The BBC describes Taster as “the home of new ideas” of the company. The platform currently encompasses everything from a virtual backstage pass to the BBC to an interactive poem you create by picking different body parts from real-life poets (yes, this is actually on the site). Taster also boasts some video projects, such as a conversation between Girls creator and actress Lena Dunham and British comedian and actress Jennifer Saunders.

Taster is a way for the BBC to gauge its audience’s interest in various digital initiatives before investing more time and resources into potentially failling efforts. The experiment-laden site asks visitors to rate their favorite projects by giving them a maximum of five out of five stars. “Some [projects] may float your boat, while others might sink,” Taster’s about page reads. “You let us know what you think so we can make more of the stuff you love.”

The top-rated project so far is the BBC’s Your Story

, which intersects your Facebook timeline with the BBC’s news archives. Your Story currently boasts 1324 ratings and over 3600 shares.

This isn’t the first time the British broadcasting company has experimented with forms of new media. Just before launching Taster, the BBC started creating 15-second news segments called Instafax using Instagram video as a way to keep the kids these days up to speed on current events. It looks like the broadcaster has kept up with this initiative, too, as the company’s Instagram account currently boasts recent news segments covering topics like Greece’s elections and the upcoming East Coast blizzard.

You can visit the BBC’s new Taster platform at www.bbc.co.uk/taster.