As far as I have read, widgets are little pieces of code that you can use on your website to make your website more visually appealing as well as to help generate some content. According to wikipedia, the original widgets were advertising banners and hit counters.
The calendar on the side of a blog or the technorati link count box (number of blog responses) are both examples of widgets.
One of the most used facebook widgets is the facebook desktop widget. It lists of users tons of widgets for facebook. From the basic dashboard with the number of friend requests, pokes, messages, and groups, it is a perfect at a glance to get started when you log into facebook.
You can also post a Forbes widget, to track stocks of course and and even Dogster . Dogster is used by pet lovers who put the Dogster Rescue Application on their website to feature a photo of dogs that need good homes. If you are a cat person, you won’t be left out, they have Catster as well.
The appeal of widgets? Well, they are mostly fun. And if they have other purposes, it is sometimes hard to tell. The presidential candidates are using widgets on their websites. Obama and McCain widgets are all over. From a simple Obama button with the campaign’s logo and photo to a list of the current news and videos, you can show and share the support for either candidate. My favorite is the Obama timeline, it scrolls through the significant events of his career and looks pretty cool.
