friday 5 | branded widgets & the chinese internet ::
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
:: the term “widget” refers to two related but distinct concepts.
On one hand, there are downloadable / installed widgets: small programs that run on a user’s computer and accomplish simple, discrete tasks. Examples might be an alarm clock, a notepad, or a window that scrolls the latest stock quotes. See here for a more detailed description of this type of widget.
On the other hand, there are Web widgets: similar in function to downloadable / installed widgets, but instead of running on a user’s computer, they are programs that are embedded into blogs and other Web pages (basically anywhere online that allows users to paste HTML code). See here for a more detailed description of this type of widget.
In January, 2008, the Chinese Web portal Sohu announced that it had partnered with Netvibes, whose Ecosystem service is a major widget platform. Sohu will extend Netvibes’ Universal Widget API (application programming interface) throughout Asia. For this reason, a lot of the most interesting widgets on the Chinese Internet are hosted on Sohu’s widget development platform.
Branded widgets present an excellent opportunity for companies to bring value to their online audiences in a fun, interactive, and most importantly, useful way. Below are a few examples of how branded widgets have been successfully used on the Chinese Internet.
contest widgets ::
For the LG KP500 “Cookie” mobile phone, LG released a branded widget on Sohu’s platform. It’s a simple memory game contained within a rendered version of the phone. The game uses icons from the phone and highlights some of the unit’s features: dragging icons reflects the KP500’s “Free Touch” technology, and shaking the phone to scatter the icons imitates its motion sensing abilities. Launched on January 6, the widget is already quite popular, ranking among the top recent widgets on Sohu’s platform. LG’s Free Touch campaign for the KP500 includes prizes for the top three “transmitters” of the widget: bloggers who use the widget score points when visitors copy the widget to their own blogs. In a similar contest, Heartext brand feminine hygiene products released a branded widget in August that was part of a two-month-long promotion. Users who installed the widget on their blog had their blog posts entered into a general popularity contest, the winner of which would receive a beach vacation for two. The widget itself allowed blog readers to “vote up” certain blog posts.
daily Taobao widget ::
This widget, hosted by Mynon, a customizable homepage server that lets users incorporate data / aggregate content from a whole range of other Web sites into one convenient page, features hot items from the Taobao online commerce / auction house served up through the Alimama advertising platform. Users can select the type and number of items they want featured in the widget, which is also available on Sohu platform. Mynon also hosts a branded Taobao-related game widget called “Changing Room,” that lets users dress up models in clothing that’s for sale on the site. Users can store and compare outfits, and when they find something they like, they can click through to Taobao and make a purchase.
specialty search tool widgets ::
Beijing’s Disanji Bookstore offers a branded widget that allows users to search for books in its inventory. The bookstore is located in Zhongguancun (Beijing), a major tech center near several universities, so it has a significant proportion of “wired” customers. The city directory Web site 58.com has a branded widget that allows users to consult bus route maps for cities across the country. Kingsoft offers a widgetized edition of its iCiba translation dictionary. There’s also a branded widget that lets users search the inventory of online retailer Joyo.com.
microblog widgets ::
One popular way bloggers use widgets is to include their Twitter feed (or other microblog posts) directly on their blog (Twitter’s is ). These widgets, known as “badges” (just another name for widgets), can be found at most of China’s major microblog providers, although like Twitter, they restrict access to registered users. Tencent is an exception, and it provides instructions for including a Taotao Flash widget on many popular blogging platforms. A good description of Fanfou’s Flash widget, along with a stylish alternative that plugs into Fanfou’s API is at the Flymoon Blog. Douban’s open API has led to the creation of a number of competing widgets that interface with its broadcast service, nicely summarized at Asiapan Talks.
music widgets ::
Another common use of widgets is as online music players. Most blogging platforms provide their own Flash MP3 players, and there are countless others in all kinds of styles available on widget indices. Neocha.com, a social networking Web site aimed at musicians and a range of other artists and designers, offers a widget called the NEXT Player, which delivers a continuous stream of Chinese independent music. It’s a model of single-task simplicity, drawing songs automatically from a database of user-created and user-uploaded music and giving users only one option: to go to the next song. It also has a sponsorship panel that runs advertisements / 3rd party links from Neocha partners, and provides direct links back to the Neocha Web site to view musicians profiles and other related information. More on Neocha’s NEXT player here. Another interesting branded music widget is from Yobo.com. This music box allows users to set up their own playlists, but also offers its own recommendations based on a “Music DNA” algorithm that attempts to gauge whether a listener will enjoy a song based on previous listening choices. Yobo also offers a large selection of branded widgets that use Sohu’s platform.
// AjS
[FULL DISCLOSURE, 56minus1 is a part-time partner at Neocha.com]
[Friday 5 is the product of my work at Edelman Digital (China). Link here for the full Friday 5 archive. If you'd like to be added to the bilingual (English & Chinese) Friday 5 email distribution list, please send me an email at: adam DOT schokora AT edelman DOT com.]
