Much of the challenge of information architecture since the inception of the web has revolved around making coherent and useful web 'sites' and web 'pages'. However, it is becoming just as common to see information presented in small discrete chunks known as 'widgets'.

The explosion of social networking sites has created a demand for widgets to add to profiles. Whether it is the last track you played, predictions for your star-sign, or the scores of the team you support, there seems to be a widget for everything. Meanwhile, Google and Yahoo! both have cross-platform desktop-based widget formats, and the growing market-share of Vista is exposing an increasing number of business users to the potential of Vista Gadgets. The rise of widgets poses new IA challenges. How can a client's requirements be crammed into such a tiny space? How do you attract and retain audience attention without cluttering the user's desktop or Facebook profile?

This talk examines what makes a successful widget from an information delivery point of view. It also looks at how information professionals can help develop more 'playful' ways of representing and structuring the information presented. These examples will illustrate how to develop a more engaging user experience, one that stands out from the all-too-common formula of 'information feed + logo + home link = marketing widget'.