I have posted about many many Twitter Active Badge Generators before. but not many Twitter “Follow Me” Badge Generators. so Twitter Buttons just fits the bill perfectly to fill out that void. it is actually wrong of me to call it a Generator since the only thing it “generates” is the html code for the Badges one you enter your Twitter Username into the page.
Once you have set your username you are ready to go. you have the copy and paste code for whatever badge you choose from at the moment 50 different ones. they have several styles just like the ones i put here as example:
So check them out and see if anyone of those catches your fancy.
PostRank was originally used as the tech name of AideRSS. i posted about AideRSS back when it came out and even included a little interview with one of the Developers that happened to be a good online friend of mine. that was 9 months ago and they have come a long way since then. they even decided to change the name of the Widget to be named like the tech behind it. so it is now simply named PostRank.
The new widget got a little over 2 weeks old and now includes search along with a new more pleasant design. search is indeed a great addition because it allows for better user engagement with the widget and gives it more purpose turning it into a real utility widget instead of just display widget. they got a new widget page and the widget is fast to configure and customize.
You enter the blog domain or feed and it will show you a instant live preview of the widget while you set the colors and the number of posts you want to display in it.
Unfortunately. the PostRank Widget is still just JavaScript based and you can only count on 2 quick install options, one advanced option if you are using Wordpress and the generic JS code for you to use in the sidebar. i truly wish they had a Flash or Silverlight based version of the widget. it would make it more appealing. the customization also leaves a lot to be desired and there is no way to adjust the size of the widget properly.
So, while it is a good widget. i feel it needs a little work to be what it should be and more options to be something great instead of something that can go from OK to Good depending what your Blog Platform is.
Phlook is a cute little startup from Singapore that at first look don`t seem anything enticing. but they got a widget idea very well executed from the widget perspective. the problems are more around with the service itself.
If i had to compare it with other Widget services for the sake of archiving a quick association with the service, i would say it is a mix of bits of other services like Slide and PicApp. it does gravitates more towards PicApp in the end. with the big difference that they got completely different purposes and PicApp has archived a Business Model early on based on being a service for free editorial photos or a way to get better photos to use in blogs and articles. a interesting idea as i suggested when i looked at it. just like PicApp. it uses a interactive interface for the photos but they position them as social focused and commercially focused at the same time. you can add annotations, zoom in the picture, see detailed info, grab directly a generic copy & paste embed code for you to use elsewhere and if you feel that you are a great photographer. you can also sell your pictures using the service.
The best of the Flash Photo Widget is that the design is very well executed and clean. the single pic widget is light to load unless you want to see in full screen. then it start eating up quite a bit of cpu for what it is. it makes me wonder how light it could have been if it was done in Silverlight or if this could have been done with Ajax instead.
They also got a nice slideshow and storyboard in one widget for when you wanna put a bunch of them in a single widget. it also allow for full screen transition but it got three major flaws. it is heavy even in regular mode, very heavy in full screen and it for some reason starts by itself. that is a serious no no and i would like to see it fixed soon enough.
But the widgets are still stylish and well thought out enough for been nice to use and i would recommend them for those looking for interactive single pic widgets and slideshow widgets too.
The devil is the details of the service itself. they lack many things and some are not executed as they should.
1.-High Spread Sharing
While Phlook counts with High Spread Sharing when you visit the photo or photos page by Gigya Wildfire. they decided to limit their target to spread… why?. the more, the better. just position them well. the widget should also count with the option right from itself if they want the service to gain more traction and brand awareness.
2.-Third Party Photo Aggregation
I understand that the main option should be to use the service to host the photos. but that got a hard step of adoption now that there are so many big photo hosting services. so being able to import from Flickr, Live Photos, Picasa and Photobucket will be bad for the service adoption rate.
3.-App and Gadget
Since they are really keen on Flash. why not a AIR app of Phlook and a Windows Gadget to increase the use of the service?. it should be a no brainer for every service that enters into a crowded market. even if the approach can pass as a novelty or fresh. it will not hurt. only help.
But even with all that. i like the service for being clean, minimalistic and simply well done. and since it can easily improve. the rough edges in the service should not be a stopgap for not trying it out if you were looking for a widget like that.
2008 was a year full of changes for everyone. when it comes to this blog. the changes were a blur. things in terms of widgets are changing of focus completely and widgets are now everywhere in a amazing variety of forms.
Many things didn`t went as expected but overall. the experiences continue to be good and i am happy that the blog continues to grow and thrive. i wish those in the Widget Market a Happy New Year. a year where things can grow even further what they already have. but a Happy New Year to all in general for reading the blog and that next year comes to be a not a good year. but a great year for all.
A year goes by and it is time to revise how well the predctions from the previous year went. i will only give a rundown since it would take a awhile to truly analyze them.
For 2008
Truly powerful and useful widgets thanks to Flex and Silverlight
More blurring of the lines thanks to new hybrid widgets getting into the desktops thanks to the very same plugins.
Widget as mobile apps getting noticed and used broadly
Modular widgets implementations getting inside all kind of web services
Widget support in E-mail
Feedsync derived Widgets
Google and Yahoo caving in and finally giving direct support for Windows Vista Sidebar
Web to Vista sidebar and OS X dashboard in one click from all major distribuitors
a war of universal widget platforms
widgets getting into appliances, from frames to kitchen boards.
The Results:
it got halfway to be true. but it is happening in a very slow fashion.
also happening but given JavaFX delay, that pretty much no one to advantage of Flash and Flex OS layering techniques and that Silverlight 2 is still not mature enough. it is not happening directly from the browser.but in terms of AIR, Titanium and SSB`s like Fluid, Bubbles and special projects like Moolight Desklets and Desklighter. i would say i got it right.
Totally. this is something the Apple pretty much archived with both some of the native apps and the web apps you can use in the iPhone and Ipod Touch
Yes. not broadly. but happening.
Yes!. i got it totally right. just not in the way i expected. gmail got widgets, the new AOL mail two versions got widget or widgetization. the new hotmail got widget modules and Yahoo is also rolling widgetization for its e-mail. i could say it did happened.
Demoed as part of the Live FX framework. but we cannot access them yet. so. pretty much not yet.
Blatant NO. this one i blew it completely. i am actually really surprised it didn`t happen.
Yes. High Spread Sharing modules gave me that one right. gigya, clearspring, springwidgets,etc now export widget from the web to the OS started with a click.
It happened. not as heated and fast paced as needed but it happened with OpenSocial, FBL, Netvibes, Social Network specific, mobile widgets, etc. just that it pretty much created a standar of action and the platforms have been able to live with each other all right so far.
YES!. they are now indeed in appliances from photo frames, to kitchen boards to things like the chumby.
Overall. i would say it went very well for me. i got 6 solid yes. 3 half into a yes but that should be considered a tie, and 1 solid no.
Not bad at all.
Now For 2009
consolidation of powerful and useful widgets thanks to Flex, JavaFX and Silverlight
Lines get fully blurred from the desktop to the browser because of Os Layering, Widget-App Engines and SSB clients.
Consolidation of Widget-apps in mobiles thanks to mobile RIA platforms. that are exactly the same ones dominating the desktop
Widgetization in pretty much all online service
Live FX Framework Widgets now out and showing a new game for Widgets and Widget-apps
Google and Yahoo caving in and finally giving direct support for Windows Vista Sidebar
Widgets get into a Socialization Frenzy
Widgets get into a Federated Identity Connector Frenzy
Widgets turn heavy into branding and entertainment. a blur of Widget Utilities and Widget Advertising starts to happen. a small backlash to follow thanks to that and the ties of widgets with Identity and Sociality
Widgets hit big money as engagement, branding and code portability gain the spotlight
I pretty much retooled some of 2008 and added some new ones given what happened in the last 4 months of 2008. lets see if i can get beyond the not so bad 75% of accuracy i had this year..
While Yahoo has dropped the ball in pretty much all that is important during 2008. they still manage to have a lot of cool services and developments.
One of those is MyBlogLog. a service that continues to be good. even with the arrival of the competition it will have to live with next year. but before we get to think in that. how about if you join us at the Widgets Lab Group in MyBlogLog?.
It now has over 500 members and it is a good way for me to track those who read the blog in a more personal way. s0. if you got a yahoo account or MyBlogLog account. join in to our group.
Some weeks ago, Splashcast announced that they would be building special Splashcast Embeddable channels with Hulu Content. a lot of these channels went live right with the announcement. but they have been evolving since then. that is the greatest point for those Widget Channels. they evolve.
Many wondered the why of a Splashcast partnership since Hulu already has some really good Widgets. the reason is Facebook and General Spread. the best positioned space for Splashcast is still Facebook and the fact it uses Gigya Wildfire for its High Spread Sharing. this gives Hulu extra lanes to distribute Hulu influence and in the case of Splashcast. it gets them not only a great gig but also better brand visibility. the same that should result in more white list gigs.
And while Splashcast also highlights MySpace as one of the main ways to use the widget. Hulu already got its bases covered there. so Facebook + Else is the biggest win for Hulu.
I think that should make it clear enough why it is a win-win for both. but from the user side. it is also a good choice since you can expect a quality widget and you can expect be able to take the widget without any effort to pretty much all of the relevant online destination thanks to gigya.
I like Splashcast Widget Channels. but i really wish if they were more customizable and offered lite versions of them. but as a fully featured media widget. it does the job and it does it well.
One of the common slaps to widgets. is people that say there are no serious widgets or productive widgets. something that has been nonsense for over a year. even then, if more proof is needed. how about a Financials Account Gateway in a widget?.
That is what Fidelity Secure Gadget for iGoogle is. a way to check your fidelity financials data right from your iGoogle Startpage.you can choose it as a standalone compact Gadget or as a iGoogle Gadget Tab.
The latter is only if you feel the need of more info and options. but if you just want a easy way to keep up with your Fidelity account. then the compact version should be more than enough.
This is a good step for widgets and something that has been happening during for 2008. but the Fidelity Gadget has been the one without issues so far. a good preview to more of these widgets to come. more with the 2009 Economic Doom and Gloom we have to brace with. so expect to be able to have all your financial data at your grasp thanks to widgets. either in the desktop, the browser or your mobile.
You thought of an idea. You chose the tech. Now it is time to get busy.
Part 3) - Creating the widget.
Widgets are self contained mini-websites and have to be treated the same way you would go about creating a website.
[Quick definitions: The "widget user" refers to the person grabbing the widget, while the "page visitor" refers to the person viewing the widget on the widget user's page/blog]
First, determine if the widget will be static or dynamic.
Static widgets are widgets that are exactly the same for every widget user that grabs the widget code. An election countdown widget would be an example of a static widget. The widget developer (you) only has to create the desired effect and code it without relying on any dynamic data.
Dynamic widgets are widgets that change for each widget user embedding the code. MyVGift.com is an example of a dynamic widget. The widget user is each assigned a unique ID that is rendered to the object tag at the time of the web page is served. The widget then uses the ID to pull data from a web service to determine the widget user’s Virtual Gift list.
Static widgets are normally less complicated and can be deployed without much complication. Dynamic widgets require external sources supporting and possibly storing data for the widget.
Whichever widget type you choose is entirely up to you. There have been extremely succesfull widgets that are static: Maukie the virtual cat and dynamic: RateItAll
Maukie the virtual cat
Second, allow customization.
Someones blog or Myspace page is an expression of themselves. Why would they want to install your ugly neon pink widget on their green background Myspace page? Give widget users the ability to customize the size/shape/skin/wording of your widget. Page visitors do not want to have your widget stand out (in a bad way) on the widget users page. Give the widget users the option to allow the widget to blend into the look and feel of their site.
Finally, make your widget friendly to the widget’s users page/blog. This means make it small and available.
Nobody wants to install a widget on their blog that is 2.3 megs. This will kill the experience for the page visitor. Generally try to make your widget size under 100K. Also make sure you host your widget on a respectable server. Your widget is going to be served up every time the widget user’s page is served. This is orders of magnitude more times then if you were just hosting a web site on your server. If a widget user installs your widget and gets 3k hits a day on their site, then the widget has to be able to be served up 3k times without any slowdown (plus support all of the other widget users).
I wanted to take a little time as always. to send you my regards in representation of Widgets Lab to all of you that do us the favor of reading us. Thank you and i hope you have a great Christmas Eve and even better time with family or friends.
Quake is being ported to everything nowadays. but how about it getting ported to Chumby. usualy used to serve up Widgets to you. While Chumby Widgets On Demand Appliance concept is already something neat. having it serve up Video Games is quite a novelty within a novelty.
But that is exactly what it has happened and you can get it in your chumby if you have one in a very easy way. just had over to the Chumby Forum thread where this magic was unveiled.
Newspaper turning in the web is no longer out of a promotional angle. it is now how they will survive into the future. this is something still hard to understand right now for most newspapers. but The New York Times has got the message. more because it is said that it now makes a tenth of the profit it once did at its highest point in history. this is because it is hard to compete with The Internet as whole and much less now with Social Messaging, Lifestreaming and Lifecasting being the new force of user generated content. content that includes breaking news and reports.
Just yesterday someone made a chronicle out of its experience in a Plane Crash via Twitter. this was then reported later and a good perspective on how fast a news like this spread would be that anything like this is usually reported by Social News Sites (30-60 minutes after the fact), then Blogs (90-180 minutes after), then TV news (4-6 hrs later) and that the very last it got reported by some newspapers (12hrs-days) after it happened.
Having that in mind. a good way to reinforce a newspaper content is by being able to share it online as a reinforcement of the newspaper name and brand along with the content itself.
So. having official New York Times Widgets and a Widget Generator is a good thing. right now they decided to start with the 5 most popular and let you generate your own widgets from NYT content beyond that.
This is a good initiative. but i wish it were fully open. since it requires you to be a NYT subscriber to get the goods. but i am sure that as Physical Sales of Newspapers touch a maximum low. possibly next year. all of this tool will be Open for all out of necessity as they should had been in the first place.
A Flash FBI Widget?. you betcha!. The perfect widget for True Crime Blogs and those Citizen Watch Blogs those watch blogs. but it is also a good conversation piece to add into a regular blog or social network profile. it will be so odd of you to add it, that you can be sure someone will ask you about it sooner or later.
But kidding aside. it is a nice widget with a Clearspring High Spread Sharing module that pretty much can allow you to share it everywhere with 55 supported online destinations plus the usual embed code and e-mailer options. but don`t worry. you will not be show that right away. you can expect a more tamed “Popular” sharing options to show first and it is likely this will do for most.
So. if you want to support the capture of criminals and help the FBI to do so. then you should be glad there is a widget to make it easy to do..
My only complain with the widget is:
Why oh why it has to sport a iphoney skin??. what is up with that?. a more serious and less tacky choice would do this widget some good in the search for some dignity and respect.
You can have a very useful pet hamster on your page.
from the aBowman site:
This lively pet hamster will keep you company throughout the day. Watch him run on his wheel, drink water, and eat the food you feed him by clicking your mouse. Click the center of the wheel to make him get back on it.
YouTube Widgets?. there are alt of them. YouTube Showcase Widgets?. there are some of them. YouTube Showcase Widgets with a built in player?. those can be counted with one hand. here is one that works, looks good and is simple. it is called YouEmbedTube.
YouEmbedTube is a YouTube Widget Showcase Widget Player. so it showcases videos and plays them without leaving the page. sure you can search and browse around videos in a YouTube Embed now. but this displays them better and lets you display the Videos you are interested in without having to put several embeds in the same page.
You only need to go to the YouEmbedTube web page. set for youtube video tag query. select how many videos you are interested in showcase in your query and call a for preview.
This will call for videos that are matched to the tag or tags you searched for and it will show the number of videos you set for it. all while display it deep in carrousel. inside a simple but ok looking widget.
If a visitor clicks on a video. the video will be called into a built in player without the user having to leave the page. and will also maintain said visitor focused on the video he clicked minimizing distractions.
Once you have found the right mix of videos for your YouTube Showcase Widget. you just click to get the code and you are offered a flash version for the display that includes the built in player or a JavaScript version that only shows the showcase and links to the YouTube Video pages.
Good and simply YouTube Widget. it is a Widget service by Quinto Piso from Argentina. the same who developed FlickrIn.
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