Spot Cool Stuff is a big fan of Twitter. We are not fans of those various URL shortening services that transform long but logical URLs (eg. http://web.spotcoolstuff.com/category/seo-website-building) into shorter ones that look like they were written in Hungarian (eg. http://u.mavrev.com/przy). We’ve noticed with some alarm that shortened URLs are starting to appear in the comments sections of blogs too. Who knows what sort of site you are going to when you click on one of those?!
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Creating widgets—those modules of content and functionality that can be plugged into any website html code—was once the work of trained programmers. No more. Widgets can now be created by nearly anyone through a wysiwyg editor on a new site, Sprout. Tinker with one of Sprout’s widget templates or start with a blank slate. Then import images, video, audio and/or Flash files, build slide shows, incorporate RSS feeds, add backgrounds, glow effects and links and there you have it: your own professional looking widget. (Check out the promo video after the jump.)
Of course, making a widget is only half the point. Getting people to see and use your widget is the other half. For that, Sprout makes it easy to add your widget to MySpace, Facebook or your own website. An intuitive “share” functionality allows your widget to spread virally. And you can keep track of all the views your widget is getting on the cool Sprout website.
GO TO THE SITE
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