There are mixed opinions about the use of widgets on a blog. While they can add esthetic value to your blog, the drawback is usually that it increases page load time.
As this is an experimental blog, there's more liberty to try things out. Today, I added the Date and Time widget (from Widgetbox) at the top of the sidebar. There are a couple of versions of the code, based on either JavaScript or Flash animation (relevant to Blogger). Myspace users can also add this widget quite easily.
(where to find widgets, and more, in the full post)
What's a widget, anyway? Essentially, they are encapsulated applications that you can embed in your webpage or blog without the need to do any hardcore coding. In fact, the code is loaded during pageload, and what you have in terms of actual code you have to include on your site are essentially pointers to where in cyberspace the actual code resides, what executable is required (for example, Flash), etc.
There are countless widgets available on the Internet, from the useful (like the date/time application), to the most worthless and waste of bandwidth types - like the one below the Time/Date widget.
Where can you find widgets? For a start, check out this wiki devoted to widgets, called Widgipedia (of course, what else would you call it?). Then, there's Widgetbox, mentioned earlier, where I found the Time/Date widget.
Google and Yahoo! have their own collections, too, called Gadgets and Widgets, respectively. I've used the ones from Google before on myAsylum, but not the ones from Yahoo.
Beyond that, just do a websearch for the terms "gadgets" or "widgets"... the choices are endless, truth be told. But my advice is this: pick, choose, experiment, and change often. Widgets can be fun things to have on your blog, but they do slow down load times, so don't go overboard.
