Monday, September 17, 2007

Amazon Launches Widgets

Seattle-based Amazon.com has jumped on the Web 2.0 bandwagon, saying today that it has launched a new set of software components, called "widgets" which will allow people to feature products from the firm's site on blogs, websites, and social networking pages. Amazon said that its new "Amazon Widgets" will allow people to include products from Amazon.com on their site, and customize those widgets with colors and different information. Web "widgets" are small snippets of code which anyone can include on their web pages, and are popular with bloggers and with Web 2.0 companies. According to Amazon, its widgets are free, and users can also link the widgets to their affiliate program, Amazon Associates. Among the widgets launched by Amazon today include a slideshow application, a way to show favorite applications, tag clouds, and a video previes for Amazon Unbox, the company's video-on-demand service.