How do you know something has truly turned into a common commodity? when see it inside a widget. that is also a good thing. because it means that it has become really easy to use or accept.
Movavi wants to be the online conversion startup that facilitates you their service inside a widget and in not only one but 3 of them.
You only need to be ok with the rules: 1 video, 1 conversion session at a time, 10 minutes long or 100mb max and you can upload your video and get it converted for free and even get notificated at you e-mail. sounds familiar?. yes zamzar does something like this. but they offer widgets do they?.
Movavi is not as sophisticated as zamzar or media-convert is but they do the job good and they got widgets of course. and that is what matters here. right now you can only convert video or audi from the widget and for some weird reason .flv is not supported for input upload even if it supported in the page as a url load and they don`t have wmv output….. yeah that is really weird.
iGoogle Gadget
The iGoogle Gadget is for Convert and Download videos from youtube and the like.
A bunch of iframe widgets to choose so you can put them at your site. i also find odd there is no matching version with the other two widgets here.
So, while movavi is offering good enough widgets. i would really like to see them do a url/add online widget with better design, more widget versions or a high spread sharing panel and more customization options.
There are already ways to show different media in the same player or Slideshow. like the recent new Google Docs Embeddable Presentations and the Wixi File Player. but they are not meant for certain tasks or cannot offer the sophistication of 5min Life Videopedia SmartPlayer.
5min is a site dedicated for less than 5 minutes instructional videos like lessons, a study presentation, a tutorial or make a screencasted method way better.
That is because, Smartplayer can allow you some advanced action in the video like zooming, full screen mode with all its media controls, slowing down the video, change the brightness in the video, etc. but also add other files as complementary plus to your instructional video. be them photos, text or links. so if you post a tutorial or a method in your blog and have done a instructional video out of it. it not only can carry along your post inside the video. but it also can link back to the original post in your blog from where the tutorial or method comes from.
In resume: a high end embeddable Flash Video Player with a RIA edge.
The SmartPlayer also got a landing page just like a youtube page around its community and sports High Spread Sharing by Gigya while the Smartplayer gives you only the generic embed code.
Don´t take my word for it. here is a 5min Video about the Smartplayer running in a Smartplayer.
While i had talked briefly about MyBlogLog Blog Verification. i never got around to do it. i just forgot..
So this post serves two purposes:
1.-Verifying Widgets Lab in MyBlogLog
So it can get the verified sign to show in the profile of the Widgets Lab MyBlogLog community.
To verify your site at MyBlogLog you can either post a meta tag to your template or do a “verifying” blog post like me. in that post you only need to add the code indicated in your MBL Blog Community verify settings:
That will look as a simple link in your post like this:
Once you have done that, you only need to return to your MBL verify settings and press the Authenticate Button if it is not already showing as finished.
(the second choice is better because you get the chance to serve the very two purposes i list here)
Once you have done all this, you will get the verified sign:
This sign will spread to your Blog Showcase in your MBL user Profile and in your Blog Community page:
Why it is a good idea to verify your Blog in MyBlogLog?.
*It Gives your more visibility
*Instant perceived trust
*Why not?
2.-Remind you to join Widgets Lab MyBlogLog Community
That now it is closer to be 500 members. you can also alternatively Add me and Derek as MBL contacts if you know us, are already a member of the Widgets Lab Community or want to know more about us.
So, if you are part of MyBlogLog and visit this site. why not join its community or add us to your contacts?.
And if you are still not using MBL, you may want to know they have just updated the service lately, so it may be good to check it out again if you havent come back to it for a while.
Now the only thing i have to ask Ian Kennedy is where are my MyBlogLog Verified Badges and Verified indicators in the all the Widgets?.
There are multiple ways to get a Video Slideshow Widget in your blog right now. but not all come with a landing page, also work as a presentation because you can scale the videos you place in the slideshow that can auto resize at any and allow you to include text and photos too as you see fit.
That is what you get with the new features in Google Docs Embeddable Presentations
This is a good option to get a easy widget to use in a blog post or sidebar thanks to the sizable presentation widget.
You can read more on it if you want at Bloggeratto (one of my blogs)
This is one of those cases where the long title is not only needed but even with the long title. it don´t covers the service overall concept.
WebCards is a Venture backed d by SmallTown which is focused in Promo Local Business Listing and then extends from there.
With webcards. they have done a mashup of many old concepts that work as one thing taking the Widget as what it glues everything together. and those would be the WebCards, these are Widgets that simulate a presentation site. a common business promo website. one of the most common things ever but placed inside a widget. the widget represents your business website and that is served as a independent page as inside a specially promoted local business listing.
Why i say it is specially promoted?. because i counts with some SEO-SEP magic that will assure your WebCard Widget landing page is not only indexed by Search Engines but has a good position in them. how?. because they submit your page to the search engine. how?. well, that is not disclosed but given that you pay a minimum of 9dlls a month and up to 600dlls you can guess that for such a price it is not just about having a totally customizable webcard.
The idea is great it combines many common promotion tactics into one and then gives it a “web 2.0″ approach to execute it. and considering there is no free version of this because it really cannot be a free version for it to actually work. i think they have something good going on here. it can work and thrive simply because i have seen the voracious industry there is around business listing and local commerce listings and SEO-SEP promotion by separate. offering something that does more than a bit of each one of them while offering something new.
There is lots to read, so if this interest you, check their page.
Considering Sprout last update less than a month ago. i am glad they have raised money and not surprised they have raised money. Sprout now counts with a 5 million funding round to take their ambitions of easy widget creation, spreading and managing dreams to transform into a solid model they can grow on with.
They should not have problems. there is nothing like what they do right now. even if they do face some competition in the Flash site creation part with Wix. something that may make them to stay focused 100% in Widgets. always a good thing.
And in a very fitting note, they now release their Press Releases in a Widget. something that we are going to start seeing more and more.
You like to visit blogs like post secret, do you feel the need to confess at church or sometimes think of what would it be like to know other people secrets?.
Well, you don`t have to go far to have just that. you can use this vista sidebar Gadget called confessions and know some anonymous secrets or even confess one of your own if you feel like it.
If you are a active user of Twitter and your favorite startpage is iGoogle, you already know that there are some options for you to have Twiter integration into it. but lets face it. some suck and the rest are not cool or good enough to be considered usable without cringing a little.
That is not the case of Betwittered. This Twitter iGoogle Gadged developed by Meta_Robert from 32hrs.com is pretty much a miniaturized version of your Twitter Web Page and that is a good thing. so you can update Twitter while still looking at something pleasant.
It is notable to add that the Gadget is under continuous development so it may get to a point where it has all the web client features..right now it just have all the ones you need.
You can see a screenshot of it here in its actual size so you get a hang of it. i am now a user of it. i find truly the best twitter iGoogle Gadget so far.
You can get further information or do feature request at the developer page too if you want.
I just had posted about Quibblo days ago saying that they were doing great and that Polldaddy should watch out and they just added a new great feature to their already very complete poll, surveys and Quizzes Widgets. they have added in widget tracking stats to them so you can know where your poll was placed too and where in the places it was placed it had its best performance. so in other words, they count with their own engagement tracking and stats.
These stats can be compared to the stats you get from YouTube that tell you where your video was linked and how many clicks where made from that link.
These quick tracking stats are added to the widget in the “more” tab where the profile card of the quibblo user that created the poll is shown advising that the complete stats can be seen in the Poll page where you can also see comments to that poll.
in one word : Brilliant.
The only thing i would add to that widget would be the way to send a comment, private or public directly from the widget to make it truly genius.
Unless my Birthday Calendar is wrong, then it means that today 11 of May is Derek Anderson Birthday. now he reaching dangerously towards the forties but still not cranky and old, just plan old
I would tell you more about him but Derek is a reserved man of few words, it is possible that me wishing him happy birthday publicly is already embarrassing enough.
So lets wish Happy Birthday to him all right?.
So Feliz cumpleaños buddy, i hope you pass it great and if not, don`t worry you still have many to come.
Widgets are all about the Distributed Web, they can easily place any content everywhere without you have to go for it once you have it inside a widget and Distributed News and Opinion is something that formed part of the very first modern Widgets years back.
Spleak Media Networks want you to discuss freely about anything in terms of Celebs, Sports and Politics and it is doing so by allowing interaction inside the widgets to measure the approval of opinion in a specific subject or matter within the themes they offer.
So if you are interested in news and opinion discussion interaction, you will then be interested in these widgets.
The widgets are flash based and count with high spread sharing provided by Gigya so you can place them everywhere.
Previously known as the Widgety Goodness Conference. WidgetWebExpo is the evolution of that where Ivan Pope decided to move it from the U.K to New York as a way to give it more impact and make it less British and i guess that sometimes that can be a good thing.
The WidgetWebExpo will be having place this June 16 and 17 in the New York Marriott
*No, neither me or Derek are going to be there because Ivan Pope didn’t` invited us. yeah i know, what a meanie right?. and yet you have me here supporting his event. i think that speaks volumes of me. but don`t worry karma will get Ivan some day, you will see*
All kidding aside, this looks like a great event with some fine presentations by various widget expert panelists and people in the know.
Here are some of the relevant details as directly posted in the WidgetWebExpo site:
Extend and optimize your marketing through web, mobile and desktop Widgets
Learn from major agencies, widget tool vendors, developers and media groups who are using widgets on the web and on mobile, desktop and other platforms.
Map out your widget strategy from a commercial and technical perspective
Whether you are a widget maker or a widget user, this is the place to learn, to share and to become inspired.
We are bringing together a broad range of experts to discuss widgets from a commercial and a technical perspective.
WidgetWebExpo will look at one of the key emerging online trends: how to utilize the power of widgets to carry your brand to the world. Widgets offer huge potential as carriers of marketing, brand and advertising messages into social networks. Successful widgets are viral in nature can distribute your content or marketing message across the internet. This conference will inform and inspire you, giving you a thorough understanding of the opportunities and how to leverage them:
what role do widgets play in a cross platform strategy?
what tools are available for the development and distribution of widgets?
what destinations do widgets go to and how do I get them there?
how do I track and analyse widgets once they have left home?
Our speakers, from top level agency, widget tool and social network companies are at the leading edge of working with this dynamic space.
The WidgetWebExpo conference is aimed at professionals in the marketing, brand, media and advertising industries. It will pose and attempt to answer some of the key questions around widgets and offer you the opportunity to meet and network with many of your peers engaging with this space.
Directors & Heads of E-Commerce/Interactive Marketing
Marketing & New Media managers
Strategists/Analysts/Consultants
(working in the online space)
Startup Founders & Entrepreneurs
(with widget tools or widget based strategies)
Chaired by Ivan Pope, founder of Snipperoo, widget blogger and internet visionary, the agenda covers:
Widgets for beginners: Widget tools: Widget marketing: Widget destinations: Big Media: APIs: Mashups: Programmable web: Large companys using widgets: Where’s the money in widgets: Enterprise widgets: Non-profit widgets: widgetized Intranet: Widgetising established content: Blog platforms: Social networks relating to widgets: All Google’s widgets: The power of Affiliate widgets: is SEO the hidden value in widgets: widget Metrics: Case studies: choosing widget technologies: Tools and platforms compared: Making widgets go viral: managing Widget content: Widget publishing: Licencing widget content: Open standards for widgets: Opensocial: Dataportability and many more WidgetWeb wonders.
Formerly the Widgety Goodness conference that took place in the UK in December 2007
You can know even more about it in its Site and Blog:
Now that we know Slideshare is going to be around and active for for the foresable future, how about some blog bling from them?
Yes, if you just started using Slideshare or are still hesitating to use their service. it would be good for you to know that they also offer you a Blog sidebar widget so you can promote your SlideShare presentations in your blog.
it is a flash widget so you can even put it in your Social Network profile if you wish and the customization in the widget is all about the numbers of slots per widget and what slideshare presentations you want to promote in it. so it is really a basic widget. don`t expect more from it.
But maybe you only want to promote your slideshare account and don`t want to have to design a badge or a button for it.
Slideshare is also offering 3 mini-badges (buttons) so you can do just that.
oEmbed is the name of a proposed Open Format Spec for Embed media that would allow a easy way to link to embeddables with a early focus on Video and Photos but that could pretty much be used for most if not all kind of widgets.
The idea comes from quite a interesting group of individual including Flickr Cal Henderson , Pownce Finest Leah Culver and Mike malone , and OpenDNS Richard Crowley.
Why would this be a great idea to be implemented further?. simple. it allows easy embedding of media in sites, blogs and social networks for example by providing users to only need a link to their media as a way to have their media embedded into their profiles. the same goes for Blogs and regular a other kind of startups like Pownce that is the one using that approach in their service where you only need to link to photos or videos to have them embedded in your Notestream (or inforiver if you will) like you can easily see in my own Pownce Profile.
Right now the one using it are Flickr, Viddler, Pownce, Qik, and Revision3. so you can see that right now it is all about quick video and photo embedding considering the ones who are proposing oEmbed and also the ones using it. that still don`t means it cannot get used for more as it progresses.
I think that blog platforms and Social aggregators would be the most benefited of adopting oEmbed right now and i hope they do. that would do my job easier here at Widgets Lab by making widget reviewing and showing way easier that it is now. oEmbed is a great idea i hope catches on.
You can check out how oEmbed works with this form created by Viddler
As now made “official” by techcrunch, Spotplex is now water under the bridge. sad because i liked the widget. i think it served a useful purpose because the way it attempted to be the “automated Digg for blogs” and yes it failed not because it was a bad product. it was good at one point, then it was ok and suddenly it became just so-so. that signs of decay means death in the tech industry.
And it had some serious growing problems. it was like the start up had no CEO behind it and it were a ship without destination. in almost a year and half it only had 3 significant updates that were not near enough. updates you usually been covered by other startups in half the time that minimum.
I also noted it failing a lot from a month ago until it just shut down some days ago. i thought they were updating it because that is what happened the last time they updated the widget. sad surprise to know they just were calling it quit.
That was the problem. Spotplex didn’t t knew what they wanted to do, and never truly improved in what they were supposed to be doing.
Still a sad thing to see them go. i would love if a company like AOL would buy its remains to integrate them into Sphere. that would be a sweet combo to have. in the meantime i guess i will replace them with AideRSS and that is a good option if you were using SpotPlex and what to replace it with something “similar” to it.
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