Brightidea's Application Programming Interface (API) allows customers to access and pull data collected by Brightidea software. API's are critical for creating, maintaining and updating a large amount of data for use in everything from complex reports to Sharepoint and LDAP integrations. But it's not all boring excel charts and user management. Often times, customers' use the API's for interesting new creative outputs as well.

As part of the Ecomagination Challenge, GE recently utilized Brightidea's API to create a detailed graphic visualization that conceptualizes and sorts through more than 1,300 ideas. Like a 'spinnable' solar system of ideas, GE's interface features a timeline of rings holding clickable idea spheres, which, when clicked, give you an overview of the idea, a link to the idea, the number of votes & comments and sometimes even a picture of the submitter.

The idea circles vary in size and color, depending on the idea popularity (based on comments and votes) and innovation category. An opaque 'halo' shows the amount of comments on the idea. Sorting through the data is easy by date range and innovation category which adds and remove ideas instantly. With a simple click and a spin, the visualization reveals more and more ideas, with a seemingly endless amount to explore. See for yourself here!

Posted to Innovation at Work blog by Janelle Noble on August 25, 2010