The Widget Webcast!

Last week's webcast "Widgets: Internet Sushi for the Web 2.0 Crowd" had a great turnout. A large global community of InfoPros, knowledge managers and interested parties joined me online for a look at the widgetsphere and how things are looking these days for one of the many stepchildren of the Web 2.0 family. Here are some highlights:

What makes it a "widget"?

• A widget by any other name still has the following two key attributes:
  It is a distributable web object (A miniature application that you can port into nearly any web environment)


• It allows for interaction with and displays dynamic content on the client side in a digestible visual format that changes via server-side updates and user initiated modifications

What makes it a “distributable” object you ask?

One thing that makes a widget (the generic term I will use henceforth) a distributable object is the use of code generators. Code generators have been around for ages. You simply fill in some fields, choose some values and click a button. Then copy your newly minted code and away you go!

Another method for creating a widget as a distributable object is the use of an object generator. They have many names, but do the same job…

According to the marketing gurus in the Widgetsphere, this method is preferred by both end users and distributors as it does not require users to copy and paste code or even leave the site to implement their new widget.

And what was that about “displays dynamic content”?

The dynamic content sits on the host’s servers and is often delivered via a feed. This “push” technology means that it is updated on-the-fly. “The blinkx Video Wall is a tool which allows bloggers and website creators to embed a video wall of clips from a selected search term into their sites (and pulling from over 18 million searchable hours of footage). The display is fed by RSS, so it updates automatically as new search results come in. Users can choose the size of their desired wall, composing it with anywhere from one to sixty-four glimmering video screens. Users can even compile a specific selection of videos to be made into a video wall and embed it to their pages with ease.”

And how about that “digestible visual format ”?

Because of the limited amount of visual real estate, it is essential that widgets can compensate for high levels of data transfer through graphics. “Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. A treemap visualization algorithm helps display the enormous amount of information gathered by the aggregator.”And how about “changes via server-side updates…”?

Whether or not the user triggers the change to the content displayed, or it is updated on a timed increment, the push ultimately comes from the host. You may have your top RSS feeds displayed, or maybe you are employing a mini-search box like the Bitty Browser widget but it all comes down to a solid architectural connection between the embedded or framed object and the host from whence the actual data is pushed from.

The webcast continued on, describing the primary widget types and categories and eventually walked through the current obstacles facing the expansion of widgets as well as five recommended methods for ensuring a brighter future for these little apps. We'll be posting a recording of the webcast on our Dow Jones InfoPro page once it is available, but in the meantime take a virtual walk over to Widgetbox or Clearspring and see more of the widgets I've talked about and maybe incorporate one into your blog.

I'll be back with more on the widget webcast after these messages...

Regards,

Thomas

More Widgety Postings - Application Spamming vs. The Widget

So you are leaving Facebook after Mark's zombie attacked yours, Mary sent you a smooch and Martine beat you at rock-paper-scisors... The fact of the matter is, the viral nature of some mini-applications make them outstanding examples of friend spamming. Some, like Slide's audio-visual widgets, suggest you share the mini applications with all of your friends. Well, you can kiss a bunch of those friends goodbye if you continuously send them aliens for their solar systems, fish for their aquariums or armadillos for their petting zoos.



It is called Application Spamming and the worst offenders require that you alienate your friends with chain letter efficiency after strafing them with a succession of assault apps. These should not be confused with the true widget, which appears to act independently of social utilities and environments (for now).

If you have a draggable chunk of web usability that you can drop almost anyplace on your page without being asked to send it to your "friends", it could/should be described as a widget. Of course, I am bypassing the tech aspect of code implementation and platform management in favor of loose paraphrasing and simple ideas. :)Let's say that you also have a moveable block of web functionality that when you use it it prompts you to send some of the fun you are having in your friends' directions. "Select all of the friends you want to _______." This would fall into the category of friend spamming. Now that you know the difference, how are social utilities like Facebook battling the attack of the time-killing (and email clogging) apps?

According to Mike Arrington:

"First, users can block applications when they receive a request, so no additional requests from that app will get through. Second, they added a “clear all” requests feature that erases all pending requests (my new favorite, and most used, Facebook feature). Also, Facebook is watching how many people block or ignore application requests - too many, and an application has restrictions placed on it."

So there you have it. Where popups continue to be employed by the faceless ne'er do wells of the Web and spam continues to be blasted out to every permutation of an email address, it seems that the social utilities and networks may just be trying to get it right this time. Time will tell if it will make a difference in the user exodus that is starting to decrease the number of new users joining social networks per diem.

One thing you should remember though... The application spamming going on is not the result of an insideous breed of Assault Widgets as much as developers wanting to spread their application seeds like dandelion fluffs.

Regards,

Thomas

Are Widgets "The New Black"?

Well, according to Richard MacManus they are. For those of you who started visiting ProgrammableWeb last year in search of the latest mashups, the widgetizing of the web began long before the first Wiki entry for the term. When you look at the increasing number of widgets submitted to Widgetbox in recent weeks (or the last couple of months), it is hard to avoid coming to the conclusion that the advent of the mashup coupled with the popularity of Facebook and other social utilities has made the widget industry the flavor of the year (so far). Many a widget can trace it's first view of sunlight back to the latest generation of Web 2.0 environments.
So how are these "portable chunks of the web" making their mark? What are they providing that there was an untapped need for prior to their introduction into our lexicon? Perhaps I can sum it up quickly with some solid points of interest...

Firstly, are indeed VERY portable, and while you can have code generated for them so that they are optimized for a variety of environments, they can be dumped most any place on the web.

Next, they have the flexibility to address many major uses for a mini app currently on the web. From the media player that features the latest from your artist of choice to RSS search widgets that deliver the latest news, podcasts and video submissions.

Let's not forget that they are providing developers with a multitude of outlets for their output, and in fact there are many places where it is encouraged. Seeing "Submit your widget" on a developer's portal is becoming more and more common.

These are some of the things we'll be looking at and discussing when I present the Dow Jones webinar "Widgets: Internet Sushi for the Web 2.0 Crowd" Register today. It'll be a blast.

Catch you soon!

Thomas

Let's Just Call Them "Widgets"...

Once upon a time, the term “widget” was used as the name for a conceptual manufactured object in a business or economics class. The widget could represent a piece of farm equipment, a writing implement, or even a reproduction of a Shogun Warrior action figure. The important attribute of the widget of yesteryear is that its variable forms and uses are coupled with its portability. The widget of today’s new digital landscape still shares many of the characteristics that made it such a nifty concept in theoretical models.

So now we have the web widget to compliment our already cluttered impression of the web landscape. Yes, we need to differentiate apparently as some will argue that OS widgets have been around for years (the Mac Dashboard being a prime case in point). No, no... THIS widget is special.


The numeber of English posts that contain Widgets per day for the last 30 days is charted below. If you look at the term web widgets, the number of blog mentions decreases a bit, but there is an undeniable buzz about them. Is this the buzz of an innocuous fly on the window sill or the ominous buzz of a yellow jacket getting ready to sting without provocation?



Over the upcoming week I'll be posting exclusively about widgetizing the web as I'll be giving a Webinar on the topic. Join me for a guided tour of many practical uses for the widget in current technological playgrounds and work environments. From practical examples of widget uses and implementations, to the places you can go to get or put widgets, you will leave this event an enriched and enlightened knowledge worker ready to dazzle any and all with your new widgetry know-how.

If you already know that you want to know more about this topic, register today for the upcoming Dow Jones webinar "Widgets: Internet Sushi for the Web 2.0 Crowd" to be presented by me - Thomas G. Dopko from the Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group.

Find out what makes a widget a widget and how they are being used (and created) for the enterprise and business world. These widgets are nifty little devils, so be sure to jump on board!

Catch you soon!

Thomas