The Web Widgets and Applications report tracks the trends that are driving this unique and intriguing, but not yet lucrative, area of Internet development.
Widgets are popping up everywhere online. Since Facebook opened up to third-party applications in May 2007, nearly 15,000 applications have been developed. Overall, some 100,000 developers are working on widgets and applications worldwide.
Widgets are new, hot and fun. But there are already raising concerns, including “application burnout,” measurement difficulties, distribution challenges and deceptive techniques used by some widget developers to increase their installation rate.
The widget and application business can really grow—it has some growing up to do.
US Web Widget and Application Advertising Spending, 2007 & 2008 (millions and % of total social network ad spending)
Key questions the “Web Widgets and Applications” report answers:
- How big is the ad market for widgets?
- How is ad space on widgets sold and tracked?
- How are marketers and consumers using widgets and apps?
- What are the most popular widgets?
- What is the major resistance to widgets?
- Are widgets a fad or the future of online marketing?
- And many others…
So far, widgets and applications are garnering far more attention than actual ad dollars. Although consumers are increasingly using them, eMarketer estimates that US companies will spend only $40 million in 2008 to create, promote and distribute widgets, up from $15 million in 2007.