Thanks to all of these cool widgets and gadgets I can now communicate with the millions of foreign language speakers who have been dying to read my "23 Things" blog. Once I put in my translation gadget a collective cheer rang out across the globe.I already had a widget (a wildley successful poll) on my blog, but I went in search of another. Most all of the gadgets or widgets I saw were pretty fun. I first put in a "countdown until schools out" widget, but it looked a bit cheap so I left it out. The site I went to had some great ones but those that I really liked required a fee. I could see paying for them if I had a commercial website.
But I can see that many widgets are just distractions, even though they are pretty cool and fun. I almost got caught up in putting on a cat that followed your mouse, and a colorful game and a magic 8 ball, but they really don't serve a purpose for my blog. An important point in designing a web site is just because it is cool and can be done - doesn't mean it should be done. It has to be appropriate to the blog - like my translation tool. I now expect to be flooded with "thank you" emails from Moscow to Kyoto from those who can now read my blogging in their native language. You're welcome.
You make an excellent point - "just because it is cool and can be done - doesn't mean it should be done."
ReplyDelete