Because the race to grow and grow of Facebook cannot sustain of the site itself anymore, now you can get proper Facebook widgets. but don’t get too excited because it don’t mean great widgets of your personal account or great widgets of your content in Facebook to share in your blog.

It is all about Fan Pages converting into Widgets as Fan Boxes for blogs as Facebook states in the general details of the widget:

As a Facebook Page owner, you can implement the Fan Box widget on your own website to gain more fans and share your Facebook updates. Implementing requires pasting just 4 lines of code.

The widget currently has 3 components: “Button”, “Stream” (optional), and “Fans List” (optional). The widget can fit in a space as small as 200 x 64 (just the “button”) or offer a richer experience including recent posts and other fans at a full 600 x 544 pixels (width adjustable from 200 – 600 pixels).

So this means that it is for the brands, personalities and celebrities in Facebook to better market and target connect with you. This way if you stumble with Fan Box in the website of your favorite band, celebrity or brand and you are not already following them in Facebook. you can add yourself as a fan directly in the Fan Box Widget thanks to Facebook Connect. So next time you are in Facebook, the updates from that fan page will start reaching you.

All around a sound idea but i think that the widgets could be more flexible when it comes to customization because right now they look out of place most of the time like the photo examples above clearly show. Now if they started making widgets regular users could use to share what is in facebook beyond it. That would be truly useful.

via Facebook Blog & TC

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2. Facebook: Show your Status in your blog
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I decided to add this note even if happened almost two weeks ago as a inspirational note that the widget space marches on even in this recession. i know that may sound weird since it is about a acquisition. but even then a acquisition in this economic climate is a good thing right?

So Adgregate Markets that specialize in making transaction enabled Shopping Ad Banners decided that it was a good idea to buy a Promo Widget Network like Gydget. IT IS. these will be rolled into the ShopAds they do and will result in in-widget shops and smarter ad widgets.

Gydget had been around for 2 years or so and it seems that they were losing steam as the competitions in promo widgets is quite brutal now. but this is a good ticket out and it does create a better end product, that in the end continues to be widgets. so it is all good.

Gydget

Adgregate Markets

Adgregate Markets Snaps Up Widget Maker Gydget  via Techcrunch

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Skittles, the colored candy company decided to start March with a bang and introduce a clever spin that married social media marketing with Website Widgetization. the question was on the how. i have posted on Promo Widgets and Ad Widgets and how a brand can be made portable and viral via widgets. What Skittle did that is a true work of genius in terms of Online Marketing was to make their website a Widget and then make that widget float over web 2.0 darlings to place the brand into a social context given by the direct consumers of the brand product. be it YouTube for videos, Flickr for photos and Twitter for Social Messaging. this way they brand over people perceptions and opinions why promoting directly the skittle brand and boost the marketing into the 21st century as it gives it credibility and effectiveness.

I remember vaguely other company that did something similar by making their website in flash at a size that could fit into a 800 x 600 pixel grid that linked to myspace and that reproduced videos about the brand. this was back in 2006 i think. what skittle did goes into a whole new level thanks to the evolution of the web, widgets, new media and social media alike. so it is not that another brand didn’t tried this or that it was not possible. it is just that it was not yet the time for it as the tech was not only evolved enough but that the conventions had not reached the mainstream to me this idea a marketer dream.

I hope the idea gets explored more we get to see even better execution of this.

Skittles

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WidgetBucks, the controversial Widget Advertising company that against all odds continues to grow and polarize people received Robert Scoble not that long ago (even if in internet time it could be perceived as ancient) and he goes into a video tour with Matt Hulett, CEO of Mpire, the parent company of WidgetBucks and as TechFlash notes:

CEO Matt Hulett takes blogger Robert Scoble on a video tour of the company’s Seattle offices, with the former RealNetworks and Expedia executive describing the WidgetBucks business as a "shopping AdSense." Hulett — who explains why each employee has his or her own office — also notes that about 100 million unique users are seeing their advertising widgets each month.

The reason i post the video is because if there is a Widget Company i receive E-mail about is WidgetBucks. people asking me to never cover them, other asking for more coverage and others asking me why it is not working with them (yeah, really)

That means it should be of interest for Widgets Lab Readers to have a look at it.

WidgetBucks

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iMedia Connection is not a stranger to Widget related Articles. and while this new piece called “11 Steps for Widget Success” should be more useful for those interested Widget Advertising and Widget Marketing.. the points are good for everyone interested in Widgets.

I also recommend to read the article by Bob Garfield on Advertising Age. but if you have already read that one. this would could be considered a guide post that one.

And finally as a matter of Blog Replies go. Newsgator got their on take on imedia Connection article that is also worth a read.

Related posts:

1. Lessons in building a Better Widget
2. 4 Widget Best Practices
3. Advertising Age On Widget Marketing