What’s a Web Widget?
Normally when you are talking about a widget, you’re just using it as a generic term for producing something to sell. But web widgets are of a different ilk, and are pretty specific in function. A web widget is something that you place on your website or blog that provides a useful, informative, interactive, cute, or fun experience. If you don’t believe you’ve ever seen a web widget before, you probably have, but just didn’t realize it at the time. Most likely you have seen a weather widget. With this type of widget you input your zip code and out pops a forecast for your city. You may have even checked on one of your favorite stocks before by entering in the stock symbol into a widget, which then spits out the stock quote for you.
The Value of a Good Web Widget
One of the most downloaded widgets is a cute and fun little application called Maukie the Virtual Cat. Maukie is a piece of code that you copy and paste on a website or blog, and the result is a cute little cat that follows your cursor around with her eyes and swipes at it once in a while. She also meows when you scratch her head and purrs when you rub her tummy. Who cares, right? Apparently over 866,000 people cared enough to have downloaded it (and that is just the tally from one website that offers it for download – widgetbox). It was charming enough to “go viral”. Why should you care? I cared because I thought even if I could get a few hundred people to download a widget of my creation, which also has a link back to a website I care about, then there would be that much more exposure to that website, and it might be good fodder for search engine optimization. The line of thought goes that if enough people find the content engaging, they might click the link in the widget to find out more who’s behind it; further, if it’s compelling enough for people to not only use it but also want to have it on their own website or blog, Google might also give it a little “love” and pass that love onto the website I care about.
The Creation
So I set out to create a web widget. I wanted to create something that was interactive, like Maukie. I also wanted to create something that was social, so it could get some good traction with whatever social signals Google’s algorithm has or will put into place, and just so people could share it and have some silly fun with it; I’d get enjoyment out of seeing my creation come to life. Since I didn’t have programming skills, I hired a programmer to breathe life into my idea. And here’s what came of it:
What Was Known Beforehand
I didn’t know how many people would use my web widget, but I did a little bit of research beforehand and I do know that there’s a lot of people that post pictures of their bed head on the web for kicks and giggles. The $64,000 question was, “Would I be able to capture that demographic?” I decided to also brand my widget by calling it what I think is a catchy name – “Own Your Bedhead!” (and giving it its own website domain). Didn’t Sprite get plenty of mileage from a call to action similar to that, in their case, “Obey Your Thirst” (lol)?
My Realistic Expectations and What I Envision Will Come of This
There are a handful of ways that I envisioned my web widget could be used. What came to me as the most obvious uses were people photo sharing on their Facebook or Twitter accounts. Maybe they’ll share their bed head on PhotoBucket or Flickr. Of course, some users may just email someone the framed picture of their bed head with a funny description below it. I thought it would be great for grandkids to email pictures of their cute bed heads to their grandparents.
My web widget may never become a billion dollar app like Instagram, but a few hundred downloads would have me pleased as punch. The next step in the progression could be making it a free app for smart phones, and making it connect to Facebook or Twitter via an API so people can post their pic immediately, rather than having to save it to their computer first.
I do know that Pinterest wasn’t an overnight sensation, but look at it today – the fastest social networking website in all of history, and currently the third most popular behind Facebook and Twitter. So what if it takes my little web widget a couple of years to finally get some of the more socially influential brave souls to stumble upon (share this post!) it and try it out? If my target of a few hundred downloads happened in 3 years, it would still be worthwhile. You never lose as long stay in the game. And it can help to be a little offbeat and crazy sometimes!
Nedra Batey likes to come up with new inventions is always trying new things. She loves the evolving social aspect of search in Google’s algorithm. She encourages you to be less inhibited, and Own Your Bedhead!
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