- This article is about web page code widgets. For other uses of widget, see widget.
A web widget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation. HTML, an initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant Markup language for Web pages It provides a means to describe the structure A compiler is a Computer program (or set of programs that translates text written in a computer language (the source language) into another They are derived from the idea of code reuse. Code reuse, also called software reuse is the use of existing software or software knowledge to build new software Other terms used to describe web widgets include: gadget, badge, module, capsule, snippet, mini and flake. Web widgets often but not always use DHTML, JavaScript, or Adobe Flash. Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is a collection of technologies used together to create interactive and animated Web sites by using a combination of a static Markup JavaScript is a Scripting language most often used for Client-side web development Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of Multimedia software created by Macromedia and currently
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Widgets
Embeddable chunks of code have existed since the start of the World Wide Web. Web developers have long sought and used third party code chunks in their pages. It could be said that the original web widgets were the link counters and advertising banners that grew up alongside the early web. Later, ad and affiliate networks used code widgets for distribution purposes.
A widget is anything that can be embedded within a page of HTML, i. HTML, an initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant Markup language for Web pages It provides a means to describe the structure e. a web page. A widget adds some content to that page that is not static. Generally widgets are third party originated, though they can be home made. Widgets are also known as modules, snippets, and plug-ins.
The first broadly implemented web widget, Trivia Blitz, was introduced in 1997. It was a java game applet offered by Uproar. com that appeared on 15,200 websites as of December 31, 1998 and 36,100 websites as of December 31, 1999. It spread virally through an "add this game to your website" button. Sites that carried the game ranged from Geocities and Tripod personal pages to CNN and Tower Records. Uproar paid affiliate sites a referral fee for users that registered through the widget. When Uproar. com was acquired by Vivendi Universal in 2001, the widget was discontinued.
Widgets are now commonplace and are used by bloggers, social network users, auction sites and owners of personal web sites. They exist on home page sites such as iGoogle, Netvibes, Pageflakes, SpringWidgets and yourminis. iGoogle (formerly Google Personalized Homepage and Google IG) a service of Google, is a customizable AJAX -based Startpage much like Netvibes is a multi-lingual Ajax -based personalized Start page much like Pageflakes, My Yahoo!, IGoogle, and Microsoft Live Pageflakes is an Ajax -based start page similar to My Yahoo!, IGoogle, Netvibes and Microsoft Live. Widgets distribution platforms such as Clearspring are now used to seed and distribute widgets as Rich media Advertisement units. Media and entertainment companies are increasingly using widgets to run Ad campaign's. Widgets are used as a distribution method by ad networks such as Google’s AdSense, by media sites such as Flickr, by video sites such as YouTube and by hundreds of other organizations. Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online AdSense is an advertisement serving program run by Google. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text image and more recently video Advertisements Flickr is an image and video hosting Website, Web services suite and Online community platform YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees
Usage and criticism
Applications can be integrated within a third party website by the placement of a small snippet of code. The code brings in ‘live’ content – advertisements, links, images – from a third party site without the web site owner having to update.
End users can utilize Web Widgets to enhance a number of web-based hosts, or drop targets. Categories of drop targets include social networks, blogs, wikis and personal homepages. A social network is a Social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as A blog (a contraction of the term " Web log " is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary descriptions of A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content using a simplified Markup language. Personal web pages are World Wide Web pages created by an individual to contain content of a personal nature Although end users primarily use Web Widgets to enhance their personal web experiences, or the web experiences of visitors to their personal sites, corporations can potentially use Web Widgets to improve their web sites using syndicated content and functionality from third party providers. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business
The use of web widgets has been increasingly proposed as a marketing channel that could replace the less effective targeted banner ads and take advantage of the viral distribution in social networks. Banner blindness is a phenomenon in web Usability where visitors on a Website ignore banner-like information Online advertising is a form of Advertising that uses the Internet and World Wide Web in order to deliver Marketing messages and attract customers Word of mouth, is a reference to the passing of Information by verbal means especially recommendations but also general information in an informal person-to-person This usage has been critizised as ineffective [1], since users of a social space are not mainly in a mindset receptive to information exposition but one of content ram.
Security considerations
As any program code, widgets can be used for malicious purposes. One example is the Facebook “Secret Crush” widget, discovered in early 2008 by Fortinet as luring users to install Zango malware. Facebook is a social networking Website launched on February 4 2004 Fortinet is a private company that is headquartered in Sunnyvale California, that specializes in consolidated network security appliances Zango, formerly 180solutions and Hotbar, produces software that provides access to partners' games and DRM -restricted videos and software Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without [2]
Widget management systems
Widget management systems offer a method of managing widgets that works on any web page, such as a blog or social networking home page. In computer software a widget engine is a software service available to users for running and displaying desktop widgets on the desktop. Many blog systems like Wordpress or Movable Type come with built in widget management systems as plug-ins. WordPress is an Open source blog publishing application. WordPress is the official successor of b2\cafelog, developed by Michel Valdrighi Movable type is the system of Printing and Typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual letters or punctuation Users can obtain widgets and other widget management tools from widget companies such as Gigya Clearspring Widgetbox. Clearspring Technologies is a privately held Web 20 Software company that offers a Web widget platform Widgetbox is a San Francisco, California based company that enables people to find make and distribute Web widgets for Blogging, Social networking
References
- ^ Why Widgets Don't Work, BusinessWeek 2008, March 3
- ^ "Widget inflicts malware - Facebook ignores advisory?" (2008-01-05). 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. blog. anta. net. ISSN 1797-1993. An International Standard Serial Number ( ISSN) is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic Periodical publication.
See also
External links
- The Year of the Widget?
- Widgets 101
- Google Program Enlists Mini-Sites as Selling Tool for Advertisers
- What is a Web Widget ?
- Top 10 Web Widgets for your blog
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