Time: 14 minutes, 30 seconds. Hey, it’s a big topic!
Featured Expert: Kevin Skarritt, Chief Nut, Acorn Creative
Summary: Widgets. Cute enough word, but for those of us who are technophobes, the brave new world of widgets can be daunting. Allen “Widget Neophyte” Voivod grills Kevin “Social Media Maestro” Skarritt on the particulars of widgets – what they are, why they matter to business owners, and how they can add to your bottom line.
Teaser Quip: “How can I [hit our business goals] through existing content or possibly new content or new ideas that could be served up via widgets?”
Idea path: WidgetWeb Expo in NYC >> What is a widget? >> “A portable snippet of code that can be placed in multiple locations within social networks” >> A little idea, program, portal, database, anything you want >> Examples small and large >> Also called “gadgets” >> 1000s produced daily >> Overstock.com’s widget banner/search box >> What’s a good widget strategy? >> Bad: “We need a widget ‘cuz it’s cool” >> Good: Increasing sales, web traffic, product exposure >> Product-based widget brainstorm: games, incentives, anything that increases awareness >> Facebook, MySpace, the desktop – where does the widget go? >> An analogy comparing websites, widgets and social networks to businesses and cities >> Taking a piece of your business to where the people are, and not making them come back to you, and still do business >> The community supports your business >> Widgets can easily be replicated, and go across domains >> How widgets differ from RSS feeds >> RSS feeds serve up content – text, video, images, audio >> Widgets can syndicate an entire database process >> Widgets can be free-standing, but RSS feeds always draw from a home base >> If 2007 was all about the mainstream recognition of social networks, 2008 is all about niche networks, and how they interact with each other through things like widgets
