That was the title of my session last week at the Widget Web Expo. Lousy title, good session. The session started by discussing the fallacy of the “widget promise” - the notion that “if you build it, they will come.”
Widgets have been sold as a way to achieve broad distribution easily. The sale has been that slapping a “copy me” button onto the widget = viral distribution. Unfortunately this simplistic equation neglects important other factors that influence the ability of a widget to promote itself, encouraging replication and duplication across the web.
By ignoring the other factors widget developers have created a world where, as Fred also noted in his keynote, widgets are “increasingly seen as ad units and increasingly ignored.”
The solution? Achieve an equilibrium across three vectors.
1) Value for publisher: the website’s publisher has to find value in the widget in order to integrate it onto their page. The value derived can range from self-expression, to revenue (or, at least, the potential of), increased page views, etc.
2) Value for browse: the widget has to encourage engagement and interaction by delivering value to the visitor otherwise it will be viewed as an ad unit and ignored. The value can play on ego, deliver ‘fun’, etc.
3) Ease of replication: any friction introduced to the grab and install process introduces drop-off points and will constrain the level of duplication. Reduce friction, support single-click installation, respect transaction timing, etc.
The web is littered with widget carcasses that nailed one of the vectors (often “ease of replication”, including a big “copy me” button is easy and it’s easy to believe). Unfortunately because the widget developer failed to pay respect to this “great equilibrium model” the widgets failed to promote more widgets.
When looking at a successful widget it’s easy to see the respect paid to the three vectors. When looking at an unpopular widget it’s often easy to identify which vector(s) is to blame.
Any one want to challenge me to work through a case study in the comments? Have at it — name a widget and I’ll dive in.
