Google Do Gadgets
Not sure if they are avoiding the term “widget” but Google have introduced Google “Gadgets”. Think widget. Great idea and one they would have to have been thinking about before now. The very fact that they have 1220 for you to browse.
Seems that Google was waiting for the right time to release them to the world. With the release of new sites recently like WidgetBox perhaps Google was feeling the pressure to let loose their stock of widgets on the world at large.
While widgets have been associated with Google Desktop and the Personalized Homepage for a while, they are now available for use on your own web page or blog. One drawback is that are Java Script based which a lot of sites prevent the use of. The other thing is that I was not blown away with them, sure I think there are some great ones in there but you have to dig a bit to find them.
Developers are also welcome to code their own widgets. This is where the innovation will come from. While sites like WidgetBox offer what appears to be a higher quality, but the size and reach of Google will no doubt see these little buggers everywhere.
Google are yet again keeping up with what appears to be the vibe and trend of the moment and they seem to have known about it coming. That is the really interesting thing in my mind…