The Widget Is Dead… Sort Of.

Posted by ben

June 9, 2008

Today I was in the middle of a conversation and hit a proverbial wall. I needed a word to describe a potential product that I’ve been working on. The product is still in R&D and still ‘under wraps’ so I didn’t want to make the mistake of using it’s name. I needed something else to call it, but the word I normally would have used in a situation like this, widget, has been de-definitionized. What I mean to say is that the old definition that I’ve lived with for my whole life has been replaced by a new one. The new definition, while now only adopted by tech savvy geeks such as myself, does not allow for the use of the old definition in most conversations.

Definitions

Old definition: widg-et (wĭj’ĭt); an unnamed or hypothetical manufactured article

New definition: widg-et (wĭj’ĭt); an element that runs on a social networking site or a computer users desktop that provides useful and timely information

Definitions aside, you are probably still wondering what a widget is. Do you use Windows Vista? If so, when you first turned on your computer you probably noticed the floating bar on the right side of the desktop. Each little application that runs on that bar is called a widget. The most popular widgets for a desktop are calendars, comic strips, news feeders, email viewers, etc. Or perhaps you have used the internet? The internet has widgets everywhere. If you are reading a news blog and see a video advertisement in a column off to the side then you are most likely viewing an ad widget.

Widgets are created to share information. Some widgets are blatant ads, while some are interactive games, picture slideshows, or other valuable tools like calendars or notepads.

Why Do I Need To Care About Widgets?

Widgets are powerful viral marketing tools. Because they are viral they spread your ads faster. Many widgets make it possible to have your content shareable. If a consumer likes your informational ad they can ad it to their desktop, FaceBook page, etc.
Widgets are scalable. You can pay for widget management sites to create and distribute your widgets (fast, effective and relatively affordable) or you can do it yourself.
Widgets are affordable to create. They can costs as little as FREE if you are creative enough. Google calls their widgets ‘gadgets’ but they have a great introduction to creating your own widgets HERE.
Widgets allow you to track your advertising performance. With widgets you can measure how often your widget is viewed, from where it spreads, how people interact with it, where it’s placed, and more.

How do I get started?

If you would like to make a widget yourself then visit Google’s or FaceBook’s sites to get started. After you hit these sites you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do to get a widget going.

If you would like somebody else to do your widget for you then visit the ClearSpring site. They create, distribute and manage your widgets for you. I have worked with them a little and they have been extremely good to work with.