Jun
9
The Wide World of Widgets
Posted by C. Graham Cohen under For Realty Professionals
A widget allows for dynamic Web content or database information to be syndicated to numerous users simultaneously with the widget installed. They can emulate coloring books, play videos and video games see the latest news and events, or deliver new and recent real estate listings in your area.Widgets are pieces of code that come in several forms.
They can be embedded within existing operating system, website or can be freestanding
1] Operating system widgets (often seen as a part of the Windows or Mac OS),
2] Internet widgets (generally embedded with in an HTML page),
3] Freestanding widgets that do not require an operating system or a webpage.Most widgets resemble a tiny window on the user’s desktop or Web page, similar to picture-in-picture television sets.
What they do, and how they promote their clients, varies.
“Widgets are an extension of someone’s personality,” says Chris DeWolfe, co-founder of News Corp.’s (NWS) MySpace. “It offers a window into their taste in music, how they feel at a certain time, their opinions. Just having friends and sending messages on a profile can be utilitarian.”And they’re catching on…·
As the popularity of widgets grows, so does their potential as a source of revenue. Ads on social networks hauled in $1.9 billion in 2008 and expect 2.6 billion in 2009, says researcher eMarketer. ·
Although Facebook members generally avoid banner ads, they are more receptive to widget ads, according to a study in July by market researcher Grunwald Associates.
“They’re a new form of self-expression, but on a grand scale,” says Jeremy Liew, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “When you think back to high school, kids put stickers on their lockers to let others know what was important to them. This principle now applies to people of all ages with widgets.”
Relevance
Everyone runs their business a little differently. Each KW associate has a different angle and business needs. Make sure that the tools you add to the space where you are branding yourself online are relevant to your site, your angle and your needs. Many agents might focus on a niche or specific target market when it comes to their website. So, why not add a widget that provides local content, events, and even property listings
Value
Every time you see a shiny new widget that you want for your site always ask yourself “would this widget be helpful for the buyer, seller or investor coming to my site to research real estate?” If the answer has any form of the word “no” in it, do not click on the widget.. close the page close your browser and put it out of your mind.. , no matter how cool it is. Be discriminating in your widget selection.
Widgets are there to improve the user experience and keep users coming back to your site, therefore they MUST be useful and related to the overall context of your site. It’s ok to add widgets, just aim for those that compliment your niche
“Advertisers are no longer wanting people to click on a link to buy something,” said Haroon Mokhtarzada of Freewebs’ 27-year-old founder and chief executive. ”Now they’re wanting people to engage in a neat product while they build brand equity.”
This is something the companies take into consideration when they build their widgets - Your home page, your most valuable website real estate and should have your most valuable information and/or tools. You want your visitor engaging in your website and your brand as much as they’re engaging in the tools on your website.
NOTE - One word of caution - anytime you add a widget to your site, you’re pulling data from another web site’s server. This can slow the load time of your own page dramatically, so be careful with the number of widget you install. Snazzy interactive widgets can guzzle computer resources, which will slow down page loads.
Placement
For the most part, you see widgets in the sidebar of websites. If you would like to see your widgets repeat from page to page, you can test them to see if they fit in the focus boxes. Limited space means that we all have to balance usefulness, value, fun and quantity on these websites.
Wherever there is a WYSIWYG editor on the agent websites, you can use a widget. W-Y-S-W-Y-G means what you see is what you get Widgets are code and 95% of the time, must be inserted using the Source function of the WYWIWYG editor.
Sometimes when you take code from one source (the host of the Widget) and use it in other places, it might not work like it does in the place you found it.Quite frequently inserting code… inserting code incorrectly can break a website. These widgets can make or break a good website depending how they are used.. And it is up to the individual user to assess that riskSteps on adding HTML Code/Widgets to Your eAgentC Website –
- The Widget must provide you with html code to embed into your website. Find and copy the code. Depending on the site, it may be called HTML, Source Code, Embed Code or something similar.
- Go to the desired step on the agent website admin tool with the WYSIWYG you intend to embed the code into.
- HINT – (not necessary) – type a word into the WYSIWYG as a place marker and hit save
- To add the code: Click the Source button on the toolbar. Place your cursor in the desired spot and paste the code– if you typed the place marker word, hit Ctrl+F to find the word – highlight the word and paste the code over it.
Where does one find widgets?
Entire communities have formed up that provide all the different widgets available to the progressive web page designer these days.There are about a million places to get widgets, but these are some of the larger directories.
www.widgipedia.com
www.widgetbox.com
Widgets for Realtors
Eppraisal Widgets: These are super cool – Widgets for instant home valuations and community information, median sales price for homes in that area, Enter a city, state or zip code to get a list of the most expensive zip codes in that area., or get the cheapest homes in the area·
Trulia Widgets Trulia Stats: Shows a graph of the median or average listing price and listing volume for any location you choose.Trulia Map: TruliaMap is a free tool to help real estate professionals showcase their listings on an interactive, easy-to-use map.
Mortgage Calculators and Mortgage Rate Tickers – § Vflyer Mortgage Payment Calculator Designed for real estate agents, the Mortgage Payment Calculator lets visitors determine what their mortgage payments will be based on the loan amount, interest rate and any taxes.§
Mortgage Rates Live rates for mortgages, home equities, CDs & autos.Home Valuation – Zillow Search Box, or Cyberhomes API.http://www.zillow.com/webtools/widgets/ - 9 real estate widgets on their site.
Blidget – ·make a widget for your RSS feed, customize the size and appearance for the perfect look on your website. http://www.widgetbox.com/create/create_widget.jsp. · www.feedburner.com – customize the display of your RSS
Home Staging Ideas and examples - Home Staging RSS Feed:
Hyperlocal Content - “hyperlocal” info can help you carve your niche and further emphasize your local expert status. Try: Upcoming Events, Google Calendar iBegin Weather, and Walkscore
Industry News, Information & Statistics - Nothing supports your message like great data! Try: Trulia Stats, Altos Research, Wiki Widget - A widget that searches and provides free results and answers from the largest online real estate encyclopedia - Real Estate Wiki.
Featured Listings - Showcase all your listings and get additional online exposure. Try: vFlyer, TruliaMapCustom NewsMSNBC launched NewsWare which brings you a variety of news widget options, including the Spectra Visual Newsreader and NewScroller a build-your-own news ticker.
Collaboration http://www.sharethis.com/ ShareThis makes a widget that any content publisher can use on their. It gives users a very easy way to share a story they are reading. With this tool, individuals sharevia their social network, or through e-mail or instant message
http://www.addthis.com - Increase your traffic and page rank with the #1 bookmarking and sharing service -
Social Media Build your community and foster interaction by utilizing widgets from your favorite social networks. Try: MyBlogLog, Realbird Widget for ActiveRain, YouTube, Flickr, Criteo Autoroll Real Estate Technology
MyTechOpinion is your go-to resource for all the real estate technology happenings. get the MTO widget
A Splash of Flash?
For the real estate professional, using widgets can mean anything from embedding a Youtube video virtual tour, embedding a slideshow or RSS feed. Slide –www.slide.com. Upload pictures and create one of 5, ready-made slide shows. If the user would like to see the unformatted show, they can choose to by clicking the slideshow button on the widget http://www.southaustinteam.com/atj/user/AdditionalGetAction.do?pageId=175499
Instant Chat? - Meebo – embed a chat widget onto your home page – here are the instructionsYou will need to log into meebo with your meebo account that created the widget to chat with your meebo me widget visitors.
When a visitor visits your web page where your widget is embedded, your meebo me widget name will appear on your meebo buddy list. The visitor’s name will appear underneath the widget name. If your visitor did not set a nickname on the widget, you will see guest#####.
To chat with the visitor, double-click the visitor’s name on the buddy list. if somebody is browsing my site, they can see whether or not I’m online. If I am and they have a question, they simply find the chat box and type it in. I respond the same way. Even If I’m offline, they can still type a question, and I’ll get it the next time I login.
You must have the browser open with the Meebo page up for you to be ‘online’, otherwise you can install the Jabber client. The help instructions say this will work.
How to embed almost anything in your website·
- Embed RSS Feeds in Web Pages·
- Embed High Quality or HD YouTube Videos·
- Embed MP3 music and other Audio·
- Embed Flickr Photos and Slideshows·
- Embed Picasa Web Albums·
- Embed Events from Google Calendar·
- Embed Very Large Photographs ·
- Embed Charts and Graphs in Web Pages·
- Embed GIF Animations and Screencasts·
- Embed Chat in your Blog·
- Embed Word Documents·
- Embed PowerPoint Presentations·
- Embed Spreadsheet Data·
- Embed Adobe PDF Files·
- Embed Flash (SWF) or Flash Video (FLV)·
- Related: How to Embed FLV Flash Videos·
- Embed LinkedIn Profile·
- Embed Google Maps in Web Pages·
- Embed Another Webpage in your Blog·
- Embed Windows Media or QuickTime movies·
- Embed Other Fonts in Web Pages
- Embed your Lifestream in a Web Page
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