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Pimp my widget: widget bling in full effect
Scott Kirsner has a column today in the Times about bringing bling to your blog using widgets. He begins the column by describing a pastor's widget usage. He shows three popular widgets: Blufr, Streampad and ChipIn.
From the column, According to Widgetbox, its most popular widget allows bloggers to incorporate an updated feed of news items from the site Digg into their blogs. Matt Mullenweg, creator of the WordPress blogging software, says the widgets that his users have been incorporating into their sites lately include Meebo, an instant-messaging application that allows blog authors to chat with their visitors.
“One of my favorites,” Mr. Mullenweg said, “is the Sphere It widget, which pops up a window to show you articles and other blog posts related to what you’re reading.”
2007 will certainly include widgets as part of the big trends for the year. As companies (startups and the old standards) try to get their information in front of consumers and people who consume media, widgets can provide an avenue for this. The interesting thing will be to watch if (or how) these widgets become monetization engines for these same companies. Could you signup for a better widget for $x/month? What about advertising inside the widgets? Some will argue that the widgets provide branding and typically a link back to the widget creator and that is enough. But just like the airline industry, one one airline takes the leap and raises a fare, the others follow. We will see this same trend here I believe.
It is going to be an interesting year for widget providers...there is a lot of buzz going on around the space and the winners and loser will be determined by who can deliver a product that resonates with mainstream users (both bloggers / social networks / personal pages, etc.).
There is currently no clearly defined leader in the widget platform space, and it will be an exciting race to see who can become the verb. At yourminis (http://www.yourminis.com) we provide you a widget platform that you can use in a variety of ways including building internal facing start pages (http://www.yourminis.com), public interest pages (http://dir.yourminis.com), and individual widgets for your blog / myspace .
I think it will also be interesting to widgets extend outside of the pc and onto other devices including cell phones, tvs, chumby, etc...stay tuned :)
Alex, I agree that the extensions outside the PC will be big but I am thinking that is a 4q 2007, 1q 2008. First the widgets must work online and get the buzz and so forth going. And don't forget that at least here in the states we are 5 years behind in mobile.
Will be interesting to watch the widget race.. who can shoot water into their horse fastest might not be the winner in the long run.
But remember, these widgets will have to start to generate some revenue (whether direct or indirect).
Slamming widgets because they distract from the content when put in blogs is like slamming TVs because they distract from driving when put in cars. But TVs belong in the home. And widgets belong in social networks.
I posted on this on the Lightspeed blog. Click on my name in this comment if you'd like to see more.
Firstgiving.com is a website that features a widget to gauge fundraising efforts. The widget is an interactive link to the fundraiser's personalized fundraising page, so supporters from the online community can view the fundraiser's progress, when the widget is posted on the fundraiser's blog or social networking site.
Another attribute that sets the Firstgiving service apart is the fact that they directly transfer any funds raised directly to the non-profit. That way there isn't the hassle of worrying about where the money is going or having to transfer the funds from a paypal account. It's a great service that gives you the tools to succeed with any fundraising campaign.