Clearspring's Launchpad makes widgets simple

Widgets are becoming a huge force in online marketing. Now a new platform from Clearspring Technologies is said to make widget building simple and economical for online advertisers.

by Kristina Knight

Called Launchpad, the platform allows marketers to create widgets to be shared and even to convert entire websites to widgets in a matter of minutes. Users can email widgets to friends to post on their content sites simply by using a "sharing" button from the Launchpad.

"Using this menu or button, end users can easily post, bookmark or embed widgets to their social network, start page or blog, or email them to friends or associates," was written on the Clearspring website. "Developers may also embed the sharing menu or button into an existing widget, providing end users another easy way to virally share widgets."

Not only can publishers quickly share widgets, but Clearspring provides analytics for the widgets that report how the widgets are being shared, track views and placements and even time spent with a widget.

According to a recent Forrester Research report, social network advertising will help to drive the online ad spend through 2012. Social marketing will account for about $10 billion by 2012 and widgets will be a large part of that revenue stream.