TechCrunch recently reviewed MyPickList, a service where users create lists of products they'd recommend. Participating vendors include Amazon.com, Target, Best Buy, iTunes, Nordstrom... you name it. The lists are available as RSS feeds; users can also add them to MySpace profiles via a MyPickList widget. List owners earn a commission whenever viewers purchase recommended items.
Richard MacManus writes that web-based services like MySpace, TypePad, NetVibes (not to mention Microsoft's Windows Live) are really web-based platforms. They enable users to publish not just content, but a growing variety of mini-apps, such as the MyPickList widget. Peter Cashmore calls widgets 'APIs for ordinary people'; what a great way to put it!
A few weeks ago I moved this blog from GoDaddy to TypePad, mostly because GoDaddy's templates had too-limited color scheme selections (and users don't have access to customize HTML/CSS). I was fascinated with the number of third party widgets TypePad supports - and how little effort it took to add/remove/rearrange them. And last month I signed up for PageFlakes, which I can no longer imagine living without. It lets me read RSS feeds, manage my NetFlix queue, use a tiny iRows calculator, check the weather... all via drag-and-drop widgets that I added to my start page within seconds.
So I agree with Richard that widgets are the future. The question is, when will GoDaddy (and all the other hosters of blogs and personal websites) start supporting them?
Hi Isable - Thanks for the kind words about Pageflakes. We have just recently started that service and it would be great if you could help us spread the word. Maybe I can even get you interested in our affiliate program - either way, feel free to contact me at ole@pageflakes.com if you have suggestions or questions.
Cheers
Ole
Posted by: Ole Brandenburg | June 22, 2006 at 02:30 AM