How to add the Add to Google button your iGoogle Gadget.

May 2, 2007 at 7:33 am · Filed under Uncategorized, Internet Marketing, Google, igoogle, Google Gadgets

Continuing on a post from yesterday, if you do create your own personal gadget and your personal settings dissappear don’t freak. They will come back after a couple of hours. It is scary and I do not know why but they (Google) has determined that it should be done like this. A little explanation though would have calmed a lot of people yesterday. Now to the mashup since we know everything is okay.

Currently the only way you can share your personalized iGoogle Gadget is by sending the third party an email inviting them to add it to their personalized Google account. They are suppose to to start publishing the personal gadgets in the Google Gadget Directory ten days after you submit it (if you choose to have it published).

However like many others, I am simply impatient. I spent a couple of minutes this morning to see what I could figure out for a work around. It only took a couple of minutes and you can do it as well.

First off log into your personal account and navigate to your personal gadget. When there go to the top of the widget box and you will see an option to “invite viewers”. After clicking on the link you will be able to have Google send an invite on your behalf and you have the ability to cc yourself. Be sure to cc yourself so that way we can get the link you are going to use for your mashup.

You will next want to link to the add to Google button like this: (http://www.google.com/webmasters/add-to-google-plus.gif)

You will then want to take the link that was sent to you via the invite email and link it to the button like so:

That’s it. The above button should allow you to add my daily Internet Marketing Tip to your Google homepage. The Gadget should be permanent since it is using the same url you would be using in the email invite. The only thing that could prevent it from working is if Google is sending individual tracking urls for each invite. Please try adding my Daily Tip and if two or more are allowed then we know we are good to go. If you are allowed add it please leave a comment for others.

Enjoy,

igoogle

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Google offers users their own gadgets.

May 1, 2007 at 9:02 am · Filed under Uncategorized, Google, igoogle, Google Gadgets

2nd Update: My settings have returned. That was scary. I still advise those interested in creating their own gadgets to wait until the dust settles. Give it a week or longer before trying it out. I will do another post tomorrow as to the fallout and the specific reasoning why this happened.

UPDATE!!

For some reason (I’m guessing different cookies) when creating your own gadget it will remove all the settings, tabs, feeds etc and give you the default look like this:

So unless you want to lose your settings DO NOT make your own gadget at this time.

Leave it to us professionals to screw our own stuff up. %#^$#!@^#$@!

Please ignore the post below until this has been corrected. I will edit this post and do a repost when it has been fixed.

Google yesterday introduced their personal iGoogle gadget creator. Now you do not have to be a developer in order to create your own gadget. The gadgets that you can create come in seven different flavors and they are:

1. Framed Photo: Easily add photos
2. GoogleGram: Send a daily message
3. Daily Me: Your personal blurb
4. Free Form: The ability to add a picture to text
5. You Tube Channel: Watch your favorite YouTube channel from your desk top.
6. Personal List: A todo list
7. Countdown: Countdown to whatever

In order to make your own gadget you will need to log in to your personal Google account. At the bottom of your homepage you should see a link that says Make your own gadget! No programming required.

Once there pick your gadget and proceed to mash it up. After you create the gadget it will give you the option to share it with friends and family via email if you prefer. If not then you can do that at a later time. You also have the option to show it in the Google gadget directory. (hint: you definitely want to choose this option if your gadget is commercial related, i.e. your website products or services)

They will probably add the ability to create the “add to google” button in the future to display on your website but for now that isn’t an option. I guess I am going to have to go and find out how I can do that now. I will create another post when I find out. Until then, enjoy!

igoogle

Comments

Google offers users their own gadgets.

May 1, 2007 at 9:02 am · Filed under Uncategorized, Google, igoogle

2nd Update: My settings have returned. That was scary. I still advise those interested in creating their own gadgets to wait until the dust settles. Give it a week or longer before trying it out. I will do another post tomorrow as to the fallout and the specific reasoning why this happened.

UPDATE!!

For some reason (I’m guessing different cookies) when creating your own gadget it will remove all the settings, tabs, feeds etc and give you the default look like this:

So unless you want to lose your settings DO NOT make your own gadget at this time.

Leave it to us professionals to screw our own stuff up. %#^$#!@^#$@!

Please ignore the post below until this has been corrected. I will edit this post and do a repost when it has been fixed.

Google yesterday introduced their personal iGoogle gadget creator. Now you do not have to be a developer in order to create your own gadget. The gadgets that you can create come in seven different flavors and they are:

1. Framed Photo: Easily add photos
2. GoogleGram: Send a daily message
3. Daily Me: Your personal blurb
4. Free Form: The ability to add a picture to text
5. You Tube Channel: Watch your favorite YouTube channel from your desk top.
6. Personal List: A todo list
7. Countdown: Countdown to whatever

In order to make your own gadget you will need to log in to your personal Google account. At the bottom of your homepage you should see a link that says Make your own gadget! No programming required.

Once there pick your gadget and proceed to mash it up. After you create the gadget it will give you the option to share it with friends and family via email if you prefer. If not then you can do that at a later time. You also have the option to show it in the Google gadget directory. (hint: you definitely want to choose this option if your gadget is commercial related, i.e. your website products or services)

They will probably add the ability to create the “add to google” button in the future to display on your website but for now that isn’t an option. I guess I am going to have to go and find out how I can do that now. I will create another post when I find out. Until then, enjoy!

igoogle

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Google themes and what it means.

April 19, 2007 at 7:37 am · Filed under Internet Marketing, Google, igoogle

For those of you that do not use Google that much they have now started to allow users to personalize their personalized homepage even more. Yes you understood me correctly, personalize their already personalized homepage.

If you already have a personalized Google home page you will see the link to themes right beside the add stuff link. Once there you have the option to pick from 6 different themes. The one pictured above is the Tea House theme which is based on my time zone. You see when you pick a them you insert your zip code so it knows what time of day it is in order to change the theme throughout the day. For instance with the Tea House theme, the little fox starts out by eating breakfast and then he moves on to his chores, lunch, etc. At night he is sleeping. Google has even added Easter eggs into themes. At exactly 3:14 am, the theme changes for just a minute to show a hidden version of the theme. Normally this is what the Tea House theme looks like most of the night but here is what happens at 3:14 am.

If you don’t want to stay up till 3:14 am email me and I can show you the eggs for the other themes. One of them has the Loch Ness Monster.

Now we get to the important part as to why they are going through all this trouble to make it enjoyable for us to use our personalized home page. First of all it is sticky. People enjoy watching the themes change. I forgot to mention that some of the themes change based on your weather outside. If it is raining outside the theme changes to rain. Now back to why. The most important reason. Remember that in order to get the themes to change you have to give them your zip code.

Let the tracking begin! Take it from someone that spent 7 years helping clients track online sales, referrals and traffic, this is more important to them than anything else. They are going to be able to build an impressive database of search patterns for any particular area in the world. You can do this already with ip’s and cookies but they are not as reliable and do not get the whole picture because of users not accepting cookies or those behind a particular network firewall hiding where their location is.

I would go as far as to predict you will be able to add a gadget that will allow you to connect with other users in your particular community without having to search for them. Making the home page even stickier and harder for you not to use.

You don’t realize they are doing all this behind the curtain by just allowing you to customize your theme but isn’t that the point.

Next we will be discussing the Google apps.

internet marketing

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