I think Google uses the least "weird" term and just says "Add stuff" to draw you in, and calls them "gadgets" on their selection page.
We had a long road with this term with my last company's intranet portal. Started with "gadgets", then "portlets", then "widgets" or "pagelets" or "content pieces". Somewhere along the line I think I found a portal that calls them "content bits". >From several user interviews over the years, just about everyone has a very general understanding of what is *meant* by whatever term you use, as long as the context makes sense. If you sent out an email saying all of our widgets are going to be upgraded, most folks would think you have a hole in your head. If you put a button on a page where everything is in little boxes, called "Add blocky snippets", people *generally* know what you mean. The other thing is: almost no one really cares what a widget is, what it does, or why it's different than a portlet. So if you just want people to know what you mean when you ask them to add something, widget should be safe to use. If you want to push people to use more widgets, or use more of their features, that's a different story. Specific to your question, if you're providing a widget that works on Facebook, MySpace or iGoogle, it stands to reason that the only people who *could* use it have either added a widget before, seen one in action, or wouldn't take much prodding to explain. I'm sure many (maybe most?) folks who use these portals don't know what a widget is, but I don't think you can tackle that issue on your site... Bryan http://www.bryanminihan.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Celeste Cefalu Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 2:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Widget Awareness Hi All, I'm designing a page that allows the user to add a widget to their blog, facebook, iGoogle accounts (via ClearSpring widget platform.) I'm wondering if anyone has any experience or insight into the public's general awareness of widgets. As a self-proclaimed geek, I am familiar with the "what is a" and "how to deploy a" widget, but I'm not sure how ubiquitous widgetry has become. Question is, how far to delve into explanation before allowing the user to choose to add? Instinct tells me to make it clear to increase participation. Thoughts? Thx~ Celeste ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
