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New Media News Every Morning

Digg Launches Buttons and Widget Generator

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Digg has just launched its new buttons and widget generator tool for publishers to easily integrate Digg on their blogs and websites.  These newly improved smart Digg buttons and widget generator were launched this early to prepare publishers for the upcoming launch of the newly redesigned Digg.

While some publishers have previously integrated Digg in their websites well, the previous process however required customization work through the Digg API. The new button and widget generator can easily help you integrate as well as blend the Digg buttons and widget to your websites.

Now for some new features of the Digg button that you are about to create:

  • Buttons no longer take users to Digg, traffic stays on the publisher’s domain
  • Dynamic display of live Digg count – statistics have shown this increases likelihood of user interaction
  • Faster load time
  • Customizable look and feel – includes a new “medium” button size and an unstyled option so a publisher can create their own custom designed Digg button
  • Related stories from the publisher’s domain to users that click the button
  • All existing smart Digg buttons will auto-upgrade in the coming weeks – however, it is recommended that publishers review the new documentation for optimization tips

While Digg widgets also get the following new features:

  • Headlines now link directly to the publisher’s content with the Diggbar instead of the Digg permalink page
  • Customizable – more customization options without requiring publishers to use the Digg API
  • Tabs & columns – ability to add multiple tabs to a widget as well as make a double column widget
  • Thumbnails – by default a thumbnail is attached to each story when available
  • Fallback content logic by domain – if there is insufficient content to display, the widget has logic to backfill with relevant content from the same domain

Ready to create your Digg buttons and widgets, check this and this.

Netvibes is Relaunching to Catch Real-Time Feeds

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Screen shot 2009-11-03 at 3.17.07 AM

Netvibes, one of the most popular web dashboard, start pages which can also serve as an aggregator for all your favorite news feeds is planning to relaunch soon.  This time around Netvibes is taking a cue from the hype build by the so called “real-time” information produced by “real-time” information producers such as Twitter and Facebok to come up with a web dashboard that mines these real-time information. [Read more…]

iGoogle gets social gadgets: trying to be Facebook?

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Google has announced a fairly major upgrade to its iGoogle personal homepage with the introduction of social gadgets.

As the name suggests, it’s a way for users to add a range of interactive elements to their personalized page, including tools that make collaboration with other users easier.

igoogle-social-gadgets

A growing list of social gadgets includes games, prominent blogs and shared to-do lists.

All very nice, but I get the sense that Google is pointing at Facebook and saying “if we can’t own you, we’ll simulate you” [Read more…]

MyRegistry releases widget for websites

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MyRegistry.com has released its free Gift Registry Web Widget that enables all online merchants to quickly and easily place comprehensive gift registry functions on their website. This new tool allows any online store to now have their own Gift Registry functionality, enabling their customers to add that store’s products and services onto one universal gift registry with one click of a button.

The Gift Registry Web Widget offers a simple and customizable html code that will automatically place an “Add to MyRegistry” button next to the existing “Add to Cart” button on any product page of a website. Customers can add items to their shopping cart, and now can also add those items to their universal gift registry by clicking on the “Add to MyRegistry” button. Even non-MyRegistry.com members can easily sign up while still on the retailer’s website. The Gift Registry Web Widget is designed to give customers a seamless shopping and registering experience at any type of online store.

Insurance.com introduces RateWidget for car insurance

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A new tool from Insurance.com RateWidget tool is now available on its website and gives consumers instant information about the range of car insurance rates recently quoted to drivers with similar profiles in their geographic area.

RateWidget delivers objective, practical information that’s backed by Insurance.com’s expansive database of rate quotes provided to consumers from more than a dozen of the country’s leading insurance companies. Because its data is refreshed daily, RateWidget provides the most up-to-date consumer comparison information in the marketplace.

To use RateWidget, drivers simply enter their zip code, number of cars and number of drivers, and it instantly displays the lowest and highest quotes, as well as the average of all quotes given to drivers with similar profiles in the last three months. In about 10 seconds consumers see a full range of rates in their area, giving them the information they need to decide if shopping for a new policy makes sense.