From: eMarketer
Dave’s Comments (Digital Marketing Tutorial Blog): What the heck is a Web widget and how are they being used? EXACTLY the questions many Web marketers are asking about Web widgets. This eMarketer article does a nice job of framing the marketing potential for this application, and I found a Wikipedia entry on “Web Widgets” that’s a painless technical overview. I’d start with the Wikipedia write-up and then read the eMarketer article. And if you’re looking for a Web Widget example, take a look at the Google ads serving along the right side of this blog – yep, it’s a Widget!
“What the heck is a widget, or what is sometimes called a gadget, badge, module, capsule, snippet, plug-in, mini or flake? Widgets are basically embedded code in an HTML page. And whatever you call them, they are popping up all over the Internet.
Since Facebook opened up to third-party applications in May 2007, nearly 15,000 applications have been developed. Overall, some 100,000 developers are working on widgets and applications worldwide.
All the excitement aside, eMarketer estimates that US companies will spend only $40 million in 2008 to create, promote and distribute widgets, up from $15 million in 2007.”
Read the entire eMarketer article on eMarketer.com.