Widgets and Badges

Blogs are commonplace nowaday’s among many. There are many ways to jazz up you’re blog. Two common add-ons are widgets and badges.

Wikipedia defines a web widget as “a portable chunk of hat can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation.” This lingo is a little technologically heavy for me so allow me to put this in layman’s terms. Widgets are pretty much apps for your blog. Widgets can include calendars, countdowns, flight arrival schedules, even horoscopes. Widgets are created on the basis of a code reuse. Code reuse is simply the use of existing software. Widgets are usually placed on the left or right sidebar of your webpage.

A web badge is a simple icon placed on your website that links back to another page, usually a page you want to endorse. For example, Apple Microsoft has developed several badges for Apple users to paste on their blog or website. Apple explains that this is a way to “ reinforce Apple’s corporate and brand identities, while reaping the benefits of those identities.” In short, a web badge is a great marketing tool.

I am a huge fan of the small club in Statesboro called the Swing Cat Society. As you may have guessed, the group is comprised of around 25 social dancers who share the love of swing and shag. As of right now, the club is virtually non-existent in the social media world. I believe it would be a fantastic idea for this group to create a blog and then add certain widgets and badges to extend their reach and viral marketing.

The beauty of widgets and badges is, they are virtually free! The Swing Cat Society may have to employ a social media expert for a low fee, but the group members could probably run the blog themselves.

If I were in charge of putting the Swing Cat Society’s blog together the first widget I would add is a simple calendar along with a countdown clock marking their important events and meetings. I would also add a twitter widget. I would place badges for Georgia Southern University on the site as it is a university club. I would also place a badge for the Swing Cats Society of America on the site to show the authenticity of the group.

Widgets and badges are a true must on any effective website. You must allow people ample opportunites to get your message and widgets and badges aid in this endeaver.

April 20, 2010. Social Media Monitoring, Topic of the Week.