Web Map to Social Media, Part 6: Widgets

By Greenleaf Team - Jan 27 , 2008

By Ashley Marion

According to a recent article in the New York Times, 48 percent of Internet users–about 87 million people–use widgets. Widgets were first introduced to the World Wide Web in 2001, but they have recently joined the ranks of the hot new Web 2.0 tools that can help push your message to the masses.

The technical definition of a widget is a chunk of code that can be embedded within a page of HTML. For those of us who aren’t technologically savvy, a widget is basically a small application that you can add to your blog, social networking page, or your book’s web page to help increase its interactivity.

Now, you may be thinking that widgets don’t really fall into the realm of social media, but I would like to think that they do. Increasing your interactive presence online will enhance a visitor’s personal experience on your Web site, and widgets can enhance the social media programs you are already utilizing to increase your visibility online.

Here are a few widgets you can add to your web page to dress it up a bit:

• Google’s Book Bar Wizard is a simple and customizable shelf that is extremely easy to set up. Enter the information about your book and Web site, and Google will generate the code for you. The Book Bar will allow your visitors to click on your book and preview it using Google Book Search.
• Twitter Widget keeps your fellow Twitterers and your other web followers constantly updated on your travel schedule. Add this widget to your MySpace profile page and combine two of your social media efforts.
• The Flickr Slideshow is highly customizable and allows you to post a slide show of all the wonderful pictures you took on your book tour onto your Web site.
• You can browse for more widgets at WidgetBox.com.