The World and Widgets on the Internet.

The web has seen an explosion in the use of widgets over the past year. Let's explore what a widget is and its uses. We are discussing Web-based widgets only, not the desktop widgets such as those provided by Yahoo Widgets or Microsoft's Vista widgets.

A Web widget can be described as a mini application that can add functionality to your web page, blog, social profile etc. If you find a widget that you like, you simply copy and paste some code and add it to the HTML of your web page. Photo galleries, news, videos, advertising, mp3 players and pregnancy countdown tickers! You name it, there is probably a widget that does it.

Google Adsense has made a lot of money for website owners since its inception. It is probably the most widely distributed widget around. You can sign up for an Adsense account and relevant adverts are shown where you place the widget on your site. You then get a share of the revenue generated with Google. Whole sites and services exist today on the web that are solely funded by their share of revenue from displaying the Adsense widget. Estimated value? Billions!

By ojvcentral