Widgets now finally got several forces pushing the way they must be managed now. there is a group of forces of interest behind them now and they have the form of Marketing, Advertising and Analytics.
Those are the things that aim to make monetization not only a reality. because that is something already archived. but to make monetization something common. be able to make widgets sustainable and generate as much revenue they can.
But now that everything of that is in place. lets forget about it.
How about mainstream acceptance?
That is even a issue now?. not at all i think that was the thing archived last year.if the surge of companies like slide and rockyou is not a mainstream acceptance of widgets. or the fact that now not having a widget for your service makes you look as unprepared.
if that are not powerful enough arguments that widgets have gone mainstream enough then we are wasting our time.
Lets move on.
How about ease of development’?
A point i think we will not only reach this year but even find ourselves in a glut of options.
Now you got lots of platforms and way to make widgets of all kinds and however you want them. now we got tools so evolved that you only need to drag and drop to build a widget or mash up services in order to make something in minutes if you want. something that just a year back would have taken you hrs or days.
Add API being something of an afterthought and we are in the right track.
We are getting there.next step.
What is left to do?
With the whole talk of widgets being the new website. something that would be a half truth, half lie over optimistic approach to widgets. one has to wonder: since when?.
We have not got there. that is not anywhere commonplace or something you can point at one widget in particulal and say “that widget got it allâ€.
How do we get somewhere around that point?
We get to that point with not only Portable Experiences but Self Sufficient Portable Experiences
1.-Leveling Up
As i see more and more solutions for easy development i get to see widget companies wanting to make casual experiences. kinda like in video games where you got the Wii. offering up mindless yet socially fun games without substance. that is good. but that kind of experiences while they can get more people to try them out. their expiration rate is shorter and the engagement is of less quality over time.
We need more power to make more engaging widgets. but more importantly. we need it because otherwise you cannot with have Self Sufficient Portable Experiences.
it don`t matters if you choose to use Ajax, or JavaFx or Flex or Silverlight. it is time for things to go down that path.
2.-Self Sufficient Portable Experiences
when i talk about SSPE. i talk about widgets that don`t need to lead the user to the mothership. to take the user anywhere but the place where they found the widget. be a friend Blog sidebar, a friend social network profile or a Blog post just like this one.
I.-High Spread Sharing
The option to share the widget inside a widget became common at the start of 2007 when it only offered a generic embed code the user had to grab and then somehow apply wherever they wanted to put the widget. that was plain “Sharingâ€.
Later in 2007 you would find other options inside the widget like “JavaScript or Flashâ€. Later Social Networks and Start pages reached their commodity status and it made sense to offer a way for the widget to be put in those social networks while making the process as frictionless as possible.
The use of “install links†became then common for Myspace and later other social networks, blogging platform and start pages. those options gave widgets “High Spread†to go viral, hence:
High Spread Sharing
With the coming of age of the mobile web and better widgets in the desktop as Vista Sidebar became the recognizable factor for widgets in the desktop. such form was also adopted by Yahoo Widget Engine and Google Desktop and now even Webtops. so i think the terms is suitable.
II.-Searchable
While not all widgets can use this. the most important ones and the ones we care about to reach higher level of engagement need it. be it a rss mini feed reader able to search feeds. a video game catalogue in a widget like Neoedge or Hulu allowing you to check out the Hulu video library from the same widget. that can go further. for music, feeds and services. having the widget serve as the not only a face to your service but as a middle man for it is something needed.
Another reason is because it expands the time a user will engage with the widget and gives the window of opportunity for a efficient monetization via advertising, promotional offerings or special sponsorships.
III.-Social Graph Enabled
Widget should not wait for the user to make up its mind and send a impersonal notification via e-mail. he should be able to have the same frictionless he has when using the High Spread Sharing panel in the widget. but how?. by allowing him to allow the widget to identify the user.
Once identified, the user can talk to others using the widget, send messages from the widget or allow the widget to send a notification written by the user in whatever method the user prefers: e-mail, microblog or instant messaging.
This is where the whole Inter connected relational information spheres theory enters. or as we call it now:
The Social Graph
This is of course the last stage in engagement because it needs things like Data Portability, Authentification Protocols Transparency and Lifestreaming collide into something coherent that widget makers can get to use.
But it is part of what the whole Google Social Graph and Lifestreaming Aggregators API should get into play.
3.-Making Good Widgets
Finally. the Holy Grail. making some good widgets while still being able to give the Widgets more power and make them easier and more useful.
Yeah. no fair. i know. but hey. who said it was going to be easy?.
Anyway. that is where i think Widget should go as fast as possible. being able to see a widget with all those traits in 2008 would be great. at least that is what i think.
