Widgets, Widgets

Not so long ago, when a person would use the term "widget", they would be using it to describe "a placeholder name for an object or, more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device" as defined by Wikipedia.

Now the web and mobile has gone wild for widgets. Although there are seemingly a googol different web sites available on the Internet, there are few sites where users spend large amounts of time. The usual suspects are Google, Yahoo!, mySpace, FaceBook, AOL and MSN. So in order to get people to redirect or find out about different "value-add" services - think Photobucket, Slidr, Flickr, LastFM - widgets have served as an ideal vehicle. Sites like mySpace and FaceBook benefit as users have more tools and add-ons to play with. Widgets make user-generated content more interesting, in turn producing more page-views and increased average time per user (both those working on their own-sites, and those viewing others' content). To use a housing anology, FaceBook and mySpace are like homebuilders; and the "value-add" widget fill the shelfs at Home Depot, Lowes, and Ikea. You need furniture, curtains, carpeting, etc. to make your home your own.

Why are widgets so hot right now?

1) JavaScript and Flash - software developers can auto-generate JavaScript code which a user can cut and paste into their blog, iGoogle page, or mySpace page.
2) RSS feeds - Content distributors from the New York times to any blogger can easily syndicate their content to the world with RSS.
3) Personalized Page Viewers - iGoogle, myYahoo, PageFlakes provide a simple view of content, media, and applications for consumers.
4) Social Networks and User Generated Content - The users have spoken. A large majority of young Internet users are looking to express their writing, art, music, style and relationships in a publicly available format. Widgets provide extra tools for users to express their style and interests.
5) Blogs - Blog tools are really easy to use and are built to be widgetized. Drop in short JavaScript code, and you have a cool widget added to your blog.

Widget preditions.

- Almost all web-sites will widgetize some of their content and applications.
- Widgets will be created for personal-readers (iGoogle), social networks (FaceBook), and mobile devices.

The widgets for personal-readers and mobile devices will be highly personalized and customized to a user's preferences. So if your favorite sports teams are the Florida Marlins and the Golden State Warriors, those are the scores and stories you will see.

The widgets for social networks will be more interactive in nature. Your music widget plays some of your favorite songs, but allow your friends to add and suggest their own.