Robin Blandford [ ByteSurgery.com ]

06/01/08 The Many Forms of Widgets…

SINGAPORE - Since attending “Widgety Goodness” in Brighton, UK I’ve been preparing a technical infosheet on Widgets.

Here is part I with my brief overview of widgets to get you started and then leading into the types of widgets.

Widgets are standalone application containers that can be shared between users. Typically embedded within another application or web page to distribute information, provide an interface to a larger application or for branding purposes.

Common examples of popular widgets include Facebook Applications, Google Desktop Gadgets, sidebar badges, YouTube embeds and news or weather tickers. Many widgets read their data in from the internet using standard data feeds which are often provided with an API key to perform requests.

Basic widgets are often considered to be distributed as a simple snippet of code that displays the widget or a remote graphic at runtime. More advanced widgets may require a single file download and install into a platform.

Widgets can fall under many guises but functionally can be discussed under 4 categories.

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Informational
Widgets that provide updating text, pictures or videos of the latest news. Updates are typically pulled from a central source such as an RSS feed although local preferences on the widget may filter the display of this information. Widgets known as ‘Badges’ tend to show the publishers current status or profile information from another application. Informational widgets often white-label and allow the information sources to be customised to the users preference.

Examples: Latest News, Latest Posts, Upcoming Events, Weather.

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Interactive Application

This style of widget is an interface to a larger application and tends to be installed on the users personal desktop/application screen ‘for their eyes only’ rather than published publicly. This gives the opportunity to request information rather than just receive. Interactive widgets can include authorisation of the user, make commercial transactions and provide data back to the users. These widgets are created either by the application development team to increase users or as open-source by an application fan with access to an API.

Examples: Gmail Gadget, Embedded Chatrooms, Stats Monitoring, Affiliate transactions.

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Tools

Tool type widget are widgets with simple logic enabled. They can be considered as customised calculators for working out user supplied inputs. In a majority of cases, the formula/algorithm will be held locally with an updating data-source such as currency rates. A tool widget will be created by somebody for their own use before being distributed, generally unbranded or white-label.

Examples: Metric Calculators, Currency Converters, Timers, Sticky Notes.

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Making a Statement

These widgets are usually distributed by either a company for promotional purposes or a fan-base. They are used to advertise a product, group or event. While the content delivered is often not useful, a user adds these heavily branded widgets to publicly make a statement about themselves, who they follow, and their personality. Sometimes statement widgets will be nothing more than a remote ‘badge’ graphic displaying an updating figure. It is rare to be able to customise or add additional sources to these widgets.

Examples: Band Tour Dates, Political Party Election Countdowns.

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Part II tomorrow!

-Robin

Tags: brighton, infosheet, London, uk, widget, widgets, widgety goodness

2 Comments

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07/01/08 Robin Blandford [ByteSurgery] » Widget Platforms… - Digital Media Engineer

[...] 2005 « The Many Forms of Widgets… Widget [...]

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12/10/08 Gadget

Gadget…

Great article, Go Gadget go…

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