Widgets People Want

I had lunch today with a friend from a research and measurement company, and the conversation turned to widgets and the kinds of widgets people will pass along.

Marketers want their widget to be adopted by the community as their own. If it is, then the savvy marketers can lean back, drink margaritas, and watch their widget spread like wildfire. At least for five minutes. So what does it take to give a widget a chance?

First, it has to engage the audience. Marketers have three methods generally at their disposal to engage the audience:

• Inform
• Entertain
• Incent

With a wealth of information channels, a multitude of entertainment options, and micro-second multi-tasking attention spans, engaging is the first challenge. Second, the audience has to believe it will capture and engage the community. The initial audience acts as a filter for the community. So the first requirement for distribution:

Appeal to a connected community

As an example, I enjoy working in the yard, pruning, planting, and the like, but I could certainly use some help. I would gladly use a Garden Care widget that tells me when and how to prune, fertilize and care for the plants I have. However, seeding that widget with me is not going to drive distribution. My friends and family tolerate my interest in gardening more than they share it, and would not appreciate the Garden Care widget.

Even within a connected community, there are numerous widgets already competing for attention. Southwest has done it, but very few widgets today truly stand on their own and gain mass distribution based on their value to an individual. So the second requirement:

Incent distribution

Most widgets incent distribution through comparisons or challenges (the ubiquitous movie compatibility or movie trivia challenge) or pyramid structures (who hasn't been a waterboy for their favorite team?). In all cases, by passing along the widget, the value to me is increased. What good is knowing your movie compatibility with ... no one?

Now that your widget is on top, how does it stay there?

Continue to engage

Continuing to provide information or entertain requires continual updates or lively community contributions.

So when attention spans are only micro-seconds (and blog posts run to multiple pages), put down the margarita, its time to start working on your next hit widget.