Why Widgets Matter
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Call them gadgets, mini-applications, or badges, but widgets are becoming more and more popular with both consumers and advertisers. They give users a way to interact with your brand and your content far beyond your web site. Keep reading to find out more about these useful bits of code, and why they may spawn a small revolution in the way we use the web.
Usefulness, in fact, is the heart of a widget. A widget is a module that connects the user to a primary source of information. The important properties of widgets are that they're small and portable; a user can take the widget and plop it down on his or her own personal home page, social networking site profile, web site, desktop, or even mobile device. Not all widgets are designed to work in all of those environments, of course, and some web sites (such as MySpace) permit only certain widgets on their pages.
Wherever they do work, however, widgets give their users a new way to experience the web and to interact with content. Instead of going out to a web site to get a bit of information they need, users can check their widgets. Want to know the weather? Check your Weatherbug. Want the latest news? There are tons of widgets that can give you news from various sites; Forbes just recently created and began promoting eight widgets that provide content from its site on topics that include technology, breaking news, business, stock to watch, and lifestyle. Widgets are the latest use of push technology; in the nature of their reach, they're like RSS feeds on steroids.
Widgets boast some other very cool aspects for both their users and their creators, which I'm going to explore in some detail. At their best, they're very viral; their mobility makes them very easy to share. When made right, they're useful, providing information a user genuinely wants. And they can also be a way to promote your site and your brand. Before I touch on these topics, I'm going to give you a little widget history.
Next: Widget History and Growth >>
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