What is a widget?

A web widget is anything that can be embedded within a page of HTML (a web page) and it automatically adds some content to that page that is not static. Generally widgets are 3rd party originated, but they can also be homemade. Widgets can also be called “modules”, “snippets” or “plug-ins”. ComScore estimates that 625 million people worldwide viewed or engaged with a widget in just one month (June, 2008).

Web widgets are used to enhance web-based hosts, such as blogs, social networks, auction sites and personal websites. They exist on homepage sites such as iGoogle – where you can create your own custom news page. Widgets are increasingly being used by media and entertainment companies to run Ad campaigns. Widgets are also being used as a distribution method by ad networks; for example Google’s AdSense, media sites such as Flickr, video sites such as YouTube and by hundreds of other organizations.

The use of web widgets has been increasingly proposed as a marketing effort that could replace the less effective targeted banner ads and take advantage of the viral distribution in social networks. Some critics argue that this usage is ineffective on the basis that users of a social space are not in a mindset receptive to this type of advertising.

A related concept is the desktop widget, a small specialized GUI (graphical user interface) application that provides some visual information and/or easy access to frequently used functions such as clocks, calendars, news aggregators, calculators and desktop notes. These kinds of widgets are hosted by a widget engine. Beware; some major corporations have firewalls against desktop widgets.

Find tons of great FREE widgets:
http://www.widgetbox.com/

Sources I used:
1. Comscore.com
2. wikipedia.org
3. Talking to friends in the industry

Summary of top things I learned:
1) In coming years, Web widgets may replace banner ads
2) There are two types of widgets – web widgets and desktop widgets and they’re somewhat different
3) Web widgets can add interactivity to your site and bring customers back again and again