Recently I have began to delve into widget/gadget development. I started out just wanting to make personalized gadgets for my iGoogle page. Without having to learn too much about the open social set up I was able to quickly create XML based web widgets that load my remote HTML content.
The great part about this is you can take that XML file and submit it to a number of directories and social networking sites. Most of these sites are now open social compliant (more or less) .
So what is the big deal?
Anyone (especially web designers and coders) can easily create a container for a web page and that container is portable and easy to install for regular web users. This can potentially mean a lot of traffic!
So what is the problem?
Most of these widget sites are built off of the open social project and all you need to submit your widget/application is your XML file. But not all sites will accept your XML and some of these sites offer some great features.
Example: NetVibes is a great widget resource but they only accept UWA files. You don't need to rebuild your apps or alter any code. An easy way to get your widget into NetVibes is to upload it to ClearSprings. Once you have submitted your HTML file to ClearSprings you can have them auto-submit your widget to both Live and NetVibes. Plus, ClearSprings will also create the necessary .widget archive file in order for you to get your widget into the Yahoo directory.
Bottom Line...
Open Social apps (widgets/gadgets) are great and an easy way to reach a lot of people. But they don't all use the same platform to display your widgets. Generally you will create an XML file and thats all you need. In some cases, without the services of sites like ClearSprings you would potentially miss a good deal of traffic!
If you are a widget/gadget developer or if you have ventured into porting your widgets into social networking applications then you will certainly find the following links of interest:
Widget resources:
http://igoogle.com/
Accepts XML
http://widgiland.com/
Accepts XML
http://www.googlemodules.com/
Accepts XML
http://www.widgipedia.com/
Accepts HTML (no problem if your XML loads remote HTML)
http://www.clearspring.com/
Accepts HTML (creates .uwa and .widget files for NetVibes and Yahoo)
http://eco.netvibes.com/widgets
ONLY Accepts .uwa (submit via ClearSprings)
http://widgets.yahoo.com/
ONLY Accepts .widget (get this file from ClearSprings)
http://www.widgetbox.com/
Accepts XML (will build apps and submit to Bebo, FaceBook, hi5)
Social Networking Sites that allow apps with ads:
http://www.bebo.com
http://www.friendster.com
If you know of any other good widget resource sites or places that help a developer port their widgets into different formats please leave a comment and a link for me and others to check out. Also, if you know of any good social networking sites that allow ads in submitted applications be sure to drop me a line and let me know!
Thanks and take it easy,
Dave
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