(by 29 people)
Welcome to the Widgetsphere
Feed your Space - Build your Blog - Pump up your PC -
Widgets are tools that make it easy for you to customize your web page, desktop or mobile phone with cool new features. These mini-applications allow you to accessorize and personalize your devices or web projects in endless ways.
You can think of these gadgets as bling for blogs and DIY desktop design. Anyone can add games, weather forecasts, music, videos, photos, news feeds, you name it, there's probably a widget that does it! That's where Widget Finder can help you find the widgets you want.
For more information on Computer Widgets see Wikipedia Web widget, Wikipedia Widget computing, Widget Toolkits and Dashboard Software.
Check out our friends:
Snipperoo Widget Directory - Widgets, gadgets, modules, flakes and other stuff.
Lens URL: http://www.squidoo.com/widgetfinder/
People bookmarking this lens on del.icio.us
Widgets buzz on Technorati
The image at the top of this lens is created and distributed by Andy Hayes under a Creative Commons license.
About Widget Finder
Widget Finder connects you with the best resources for tailoring your unique web presence and profile. The hand-picked links help you easily find widgets for social spaces and blogging services including Blogger, Facebook, Live Spaces, MySpace, TypePad, WordPress, Xanga and more. You can also add useful applications and media to your desktop computer or mobile device. Learn How-to...
- Build a dynamic, content rich blog with multimedia capabilities.
- Create your own Start Page from hundreds of ready made widgets with no knowledge of HTML.
- Automatically generate attractive design components like animations, buttons, signs and site templates.
- Express yourself more effectively using site customization and design enhancements.
- Develop your own widgets and gadgets for the major widget platforms.
Find...
- Specific widget resources and sites not listed here using the special widget search engine below.
- Links to the best sites for MySpace layouts and other web design components.
- Podsafe audio and video for your widgets and gadgets (scroll to Widget Content module at bottom of lens).
- Squidoo Plexos - Custom built lists that can be grabbed for use on other lenses, distributed via RSS feeds and embedded in webpages (see Widget Content module).
Widget Search Engine
- Widget Finder Swicki
- Optimized for widget hunting, web-based tools and design solutions. You can also compare results from major search engines side-by-side and search two engines simultaneously including Google, MSN, Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves.
- Put a Widget Finder Search Box on your Site
- Embed the swicki searchbox and buzzcloud on your own site.
Blogs and Social Networks
Widget Finder also provides ways to track interesting news in the widgetsphere and social networking scenes. A selection of blogs, bookmarks and news feeds help you to spot trends, avoid potential risks and tap into the social web-applications buzz. The powerful MediaSpheres Browser provides access to hundreds of top feeds for music, video and other social media. MediaSpheres Browser
A widget example you can use
Grazr.com lets you create powerful and flexible widgets using RSS feeds and web links. The MediaSpheres Browser was made using opmlmanager.com to create an aggregated feed outline, the URL of which was input to the Grazr widget builder. The resulting widget delivers a comprehensive selection of Tech and Music feeds for reading, streaming and downloading.
Widgetsphere News
A mashup of top widget blog feeds updated hourly.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byBlog Conversations
Widgets currently being mentioned by bloggers.
- Happy Birthday to the Justgiving Widget
- It's quite hard to get some accurate stats for how many new widgets are out there, but the old widge...
- Creating a widget ready footer in Wordpress
- It is a common site now to see a widget ready footer on a wordpress powered site, it adds some extra...
- Smidgets of Widget
- (Widget's words are in bold for this post.) ?Okay, honey.? ?Mama, can we play that laces and...
- ‘Mindfreak’ Widget
- To introduce season four of Mindfreak, the world's most shocking illusionist Criss Angel and A&E h...
Cool Gadget Spot
SanDisk's portable audio/video player, FM radio and voice recorder. Click on an image for all the details...
Plexo Power - Interactive Lists
Plexos are custom built social lists that allow users to add and rank list items. Plexos can be shared and placed on webpages using the special widget code or distributed via RSS feeds. Widget Finder provides collaborative lists that you can grab and use in various ways.Use the Plexo below to share some Widget Love. People can add their favourite widget resources and place the list on their own blogs, lenses and spaces. The RSS feed can be used for creating web-mashups.
Widget List
Share and vote for your favourite widgets, gadgets, badges and other cool connectivity resources. Grab the RSS feed and embed code to place some widget love on your own blog, space or any other webpage.
#1
LinkedInABox: Unleash Your LinkedIn Profile
A widget that can be embedded on a web page to pro more...3 points
#2
Squidoo Tools, Resources, and News
This is a collection of free Squidoo tools, addons more...2 points
#3
MySpace widgets
FormLogix.com, easily creates widgets for myspace, more...1 point
#4
YouTube Widget - Create your own YouTube widget
Create your own youtube widget for your myspace. D more...1 point
#5
Custom Avenue - Custom T- Shirts Online Design Studio
Widgets and Gadgets for the T-Shirt Design Studio, more...1 point
A YouTube Widget in Action
Widgets are an important delivery component in the formation of niche markets. The distribution of music and video is a good example of the way widgets feed the digital economy in a viral manner. Chris Anderson has researched how new technologies are rapidly changing purchasing habits and provides insight on his blog longtail.com and in his book "The Long Tail" (available below). The following movie trailer is an example of widgetized promotion.
Day of the Longtail
Movie Trailer: In celebration of the publication of Chris Anderson's book, "The Long Tail," The old world of media faces an invasion from another planet. The horror. The horror. (By Michael Markman, Peter Hirshberg, Bob Kalsey; Produced for The Computer History Museum)
Runtime: 2:13
431734 views
10 Comments:
The Long Tail Available on Amazon
Widget Blogs & News Feeds
Blogs specializing in widgets and accessories that can be embedded in web pages.
- At a Glance - Dave's FeedRaider
- View widget news and blog feeds using my single-page aggregator (singlegator).
- Live Gadgets
- Covers articles and links to important gadget resources.
- Sexy Widget
- Devoted to reviewing and testing widgets, badges, and blog bling of all types.
- Snipperoo
- Discusses new widget developments, ideas and business practices.
- The Flip Side
- A blog and podcast for widget developers.
- The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
- Widget Watch for Dashboard widgets and web-based services.
- Widgetslab
- A collection of hot blog/site widgets and resources.
- Widgetoko
- Tracks new and popular site widgets to put on your blog, homepage or profile.
- Widgify
- Discussing the emerging Widgetsphere.
Web Platforms
Blogging, Distribution, Social Networking, Start Pages
Access widgets for major blogging platforms, social networks and start pages. Create and share your own widgets with no knowledge of web programming. See also the Widget Collections module below this one for similar resources.
- Bitty Browser
- A little browser you can add to Web pages, blogs, spaces or personal start pages like Google, Live.com, Netvibes, as mentioned below. You can automatically create a fully navigable mini-browser made from web URLs, RSS, OPML, podcasts, and other Web services like del.icio.us, Google, Flickr, ODEO, YouTube and more.
- Facebook Powertools: 150+ Apps, Scripts and Add-ons
- A selection of browser extensions, desktop applications, Greasemonkey scripts and Facebook apps. Via Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog.
- Facebook Widgets - Find useful Facebook widgets
- News for Facebook users and developers alike.
- Google Friend Connect
- A catalog of gadgets with engaging social features to help you grow traffic.
- Google Gadgets for your Webpage
- A directory of miniature-sized objects that offer cool and dynamic content that can be placed on any page on the web.
- Google Homepage Modules
- Allows you to add Gadget modules to your Google start-page for a wide range of applications.
- Microsoft Gadgets
- Mini-applications for Windows Sidebar and Live.com, and Windows Live Spaces.
- MuseStorm
- A Widget Engine and Distribution Service for publishers and Content Owners. Automatically widgetize content and syndicate it to blogs, social networks and websites. Provides analytics and detailed information about distribution, reach, effectiveness and adoption across the Web.
- Social Networking
- A list of social networking services.
- Startpages - various
- A list of start pages that allow you to create a customized webpage using in-built widgets.
- SpringWidgets
- A desktop and Web widget platform with a growing range of custom built mini-applications.
- TypePad Widgets
- Typepad have partnered with various companies and created a widget directory which makes it easy for bloggers to add new elements to their blogs.
- Widgipedia
- A cross-platform resource for both users and developers of widgets and gadgets. Supports Yahoo! Widgets; Dashboard; Microsoft Vista Sidebar; Opera; Kapsules; DesktopX; Samurize; KlipFolio; AveDesk.
- Wikipedia List of Social Networking Websites
- Provides descriptions of focus, user count and type of registration.
- Windows Live Gallery
- Gadgets for Live Spaves and other cool things to personalize your Windows Live and PC experiences.
- Windows Live Spaces - The Space Craft
- Official Live Space for news and information about Spaces developments.
- WordPress Widgets
- A blog and resource for Wordpress Sidebar Widgets.
- Yahoo Publisher Network
- Yahoo's web page enhancement services including search engine builder, social action buttons, Flickr badges, del.icio.us badges and other widgets.
Widget Collections, Directories & Listings
Useful resources for finding all types of widgets. Many of the items on these lists are online applications that require no install procedure and can be accessed from any computer.
- Best stuff to put on your blog sidebar
- A list of cool stuff to feed your websites.
- Blog Tools
- Weblog Compendium's list of blog tools.
- Essential Wordpress Plugins
- A list of recommended plugins that add extra functionality to Wordpress applications.
- i-use-this
- A catalog of applications tagged with widget. Covers mainly Mac and Windows widget apps and platforms. The site uses a rating system based on popularity.
- LabPixies Gadgets
- Creators of quality interactive components for the personalized environment. Gadgets range from entertainment gadgets such as games, music and videos to utilities such as search tools and calculators.
- MuseStorm - Web 2.0 Gateway
- A free service with a range of Web Widgets for bloggers and Web site owners. Aggregated dynamic content using RSS feeds and Web APIs can be added to any Web page without programming knowledge.
- Opera Browser
- A directory of widgets for the Opera 9 Beta.
- ProgrammableWeb widgets
- A collection of web-mashup widgets.
- Snipperroo Widget Directory
- A categorized database for finding and sharing widgets.
- StickiWidgets
- Provides services and widgets for WordPress, Stickam, MySpace, Friendster, etc. Much of the focus is on building extended functionality for Stickam.com the multimedia communications tool.
- Web-Based Players
- Add-on media players and playlist managers.
- Widgetbox
- An online directory of web widgets for blogs and other web pages.
Design Hacks
Blogger, MySpace, Windows Live Spaces, Yahoo 360
Find the inside info on all the latest hacks and solutions for these key services. Get peer guidance and expert knowledge from other users in the community.
- Altered Spaces
- Windows Live Spaces - Provides a selection of how-tos for frequently sought after design solutions.
- Beautiful Beta
- Exploring the beauty of Blogger Beta with tips on template enhancements and new widgets.
- Blogger Forum - Blog Add-ons
- This link takes you straight to the blog add-on forum for Google's Blogger.com community.
- Freshblog
- Blogger hacks, categories, tips and tricks.
- Hack MSN Spaces
- Customisation tips and tutorials for Windows Live Spaces.
- Little Fish Big Pond
- Windows Live Spaces codes and how-tos.
- MySpace Bunny
- Myspace pimper with cursors, backgrounds, glitter graphics, contact tables, layouts, etc. Stuff can be easliy used on your Friendster or Hi5 profile too.
- MySpace Hacks
- A collaborative project that shares cool hacks, tips and widgets to help you make your MySpace profile totally hyphy. This is a good place to start learning about enhancing your space.
- Pimp My MSN Space
- More tutorials and hacks for Windows Live Spaces.
- The HTML Masters
- MySpace group for help with group editing, profile editing, HTML, CSS, DHTML, etc.
- Y-360 : Yahoo! 360 Users Group
- Provides help, tools, tips and resources to get the most from your Yahoo! 360 blog.
Cyberculture Books
Focusing on social media, virtual communities, cultural anthropology, and the future of the Internet. You can share this interactive list on your own web site by grabbing the code or RSS feed below.
#1
Community Created Content. Law, Business and Policy by Herkko Hietanen; Ville Oksanen; Mikko Valimaki
Summarizes the law, business and policy of communi more...0 points
#2
Lifehacker: 88 Tech Tricks to Turbocharge Your Day by Gina Trapani
Personal productivity tips for tweaking, modding, more...0 points
#3
Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present by Cory Doctorow
Explores the benefits and consequences of online s more...0 points
#5
Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them by Bob Walsh
Covers what blogging has to offer and why and how more...0 points
Code Generators
Gadget code generators, tools and resources to help you build better blogs and spaces.
- Color Scheme Generators and Resources
- A list of online tools for creating color schemes/palettes or sites with collections of schemes you can use or draw inspiration from. Also links to general useful color theory sites and color related web toys.
- Custom Sign Generator Page
- Web-based image creators for logos, buttons, banners, email signatures, comics, signs, support ribbons, labels, barcodes, 3D pics, title bars, taggers, e-cards, etc.
- Free Online Banner, Logo and Button Generators
- A list of online generators.
- Generator Links
- A list of links to generator resources and similar lists.
- iFrame Code Generator
- Wraps an URL in an iFrame, useful for adding widgets to sites like Squidoo.
- Image & Sign Generator Blog
- A blog related to all neat web widgets that allow you to customize/personalize various real signs (photochop edits) and faked photographs/images.
- Online tools, generators, checkers
- A list of free online tools that help you to program, design, develop and optimize your site.
- OPML Generator
- A tool to help you generate large files of keyword-based RSS feeds at one time.
- POQbum
- Flash toys, graphics, codes, games, and generators to brighten your blogs.
- The Generator Blog
- Showcases tools for creating fun web designs and software for web pages.
- Seventh Sanctum
- Text based generator tools for writers, gamers, and artists. Create random characters, plots, names and concepts for a variety of stles and situations. Useful when you need inspiration, or just a bit of amusement.
- Sign Generators
- A list of image generator widgets.
Web Design Resources
Cool sites for layouts, CSS designs, web design news, materials and tutorials.
- Avatar Factory
- A collection of free, quality avatars.
- Createblog
- A community driven blog support website, containing free layouts, scripts, graphics and tutorials for a range of services.
- CuStickam
- The official profile generator for Stickam.com, is a custom profile creator that allows you to create profiles and save them for future use. Provides an image library.
- Free Stock Photos for Web and Design
- A list of royalty-free photo archives.
- Most Inspired
- Web design Zeitgeist with gallerries, news and tutorials.
- Pimp My Profile
- A large selection of MySpace layouts, codes, generators, editors and graphics. Also provides codes you can use to customize your profiles on Xanga, Friendster, Tagworld, hi5 and other sites. Tools include HTML editors and generators.
- Protolize
- Essential web tools in one place. Shared resources for web designers and developers, designed to increase productivity.
- Web Developer's Handbook
- An excellent collection of resource links for web developers and designers.
Widget Development
DIY & Professional Services
Explore widget interface and design resources or build your own.
- Building Konfabulator Widgets
- A squidoo lens designed as a tip sheet to guide programmers into the Konfabulator environment.
- Dapper: The Data Mapper
- A service which makes it easy to access and distribute content from any website.
- Dashcode Developer Beta
- Dashcode is a new application for developing Dashboard widgets coming in Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). The beta release has been scaled back to be compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
- GadgetSpark - Vista Sidebar Gadget Development
- Inexpensive and timely development of Vista Sidebar Gadgets for business and marketing. Creates custom Gadget applications to your exact specifications. Gadgets are listed on both the Gadget Spark website and Microsoft Windows Live Gallery so Vista users can easily find and install it on their sidebars.
- Google Gadgets API - Overview
- Create little applications that run on multiple sites, including Google Personalized Homepage, Google Desktop, Google Page Creator, and other sites.
- Live Gadgets Software Development Kit
- Learn how to create Windows Live Gadgets.
- Makezine.com: Make an RSS Widget
- Step-by-step tutorial for making a Mac OS X Dashboard widget for the desktop.
- Mapufacture
- A GeoRSS aggregator that lets you layer multiple GeoRSS feeds from different sources into a single map. Search the database of GeoRSS feeds by keyword and location, results are themselves available as GeoRSS feeds.
- Openkapow
- RoboMaker visual scripting tool which allows for an easy point and click interface to mashup anything on the web that has a URL. Robots can be deployed, shared and run for free non-commercial use as REST, RSS, ATOM or HTML services on openkapow.
- Pipes: Rewire the web
- Interactive feed aggregator and manipulator for remixing web feeds and sites.
- Widgetopia
- A collection of widgets and UI elements from various websites, with descriptions and insightful commentary.
- WyaCracker
- Wyacracker is a free web-based service that allows anyone to build a widget without any programming or writing code. Wyacracker Widgets can be e-mailed, inserted into blogs, incorporated into web pages or other Internet publishing tools. (Launch pending).
- Organic Incentive
- Provide tools so users with absolutely no programming experience can create viral widgets.
- Sprout
- A web-based WYSIWYG widget creation tool.
Feed Tools - XML - RSS - OPML
Find information feeds and get the tools you need to share them effectively.
- Feed Mixers
- A list of tools that allow you to mix and merge multiple feed sources.
- Feed Pitstop - RSS Tools
- A one-stop lens for web-feed discovery, management and promotion tools.
- Grazr
- A browser program that is used to display various types of feeds in RSS, RDF and Atom formats, OPML files. The widget can be embedded within any Web page or a standalone browser can be launched from a link.
- opmlmanager.com
- An online webservice that makes maintaining your own opml-file very easy. This opml-file can be a file that is part of a distributed directory, used in Widgets like Grazr.com or Bitty.com, a subscriptionlist, a readinglist, a file you use for Taskable.com, etc. See the Grazr widget example below.
- Optimal
- An OPML browser and widget generator for embedding the browser in webpages.
- RSS Compendium - RSS Feeds
- Links to major collections of feeds in all categories.
- Search Engine RSS Generators
- A list of search engines that can generate custom RSS feeds. For example TagJag.com is a meta-search engine that lets you generate aggregated RSS and OPML feeds from a wide range of web sources.
- Web Buzz Explorer
- A list of buzz sites that are useful for harnessing the power of crowds and social networks. Many of the resources can generate feeds for tracking the most recent and most popular media.
Desktop Widgets
Mini-applications you can run from your Mac or PC desktop.
- Apple - Mac OS X - Dashboard
- Provides an overview of features and access to widget downloads.
- Best Widgets for Music: Roundup in Review
- Peter Kirn from CreateDigitalMusic.com presents a selection of Konfabulator and Dashboard widgets for the desktop.
- Dashboard Widget