Ahead of the US elections, search giant Google has pushed out its political oar by trumpeting the fact that its Gadgets technology can be used by organisations and campaigners to drive home their message.
Describing its Gadgets technology as interactive and dynamic mini-billboards, iGoogle product marketing manager Samantha Crow, writing on the official Google blog, explained how they can be used to build awareness of election issues.
“They’re the foundation for iGoogle, the personalised version of the Google homepage that has tens of millions of users. They can also be included on most any page on the web with some simple copy-and-paste.”
She said that Google’s top Gadget developers include a database specialist from the University of Southern Maine, a stay-at-home mom from Utah and a computer science major from Puerto Rico.”
“Any campaign or organisation with a live website can use the Gadget Builder for Organisations tool to quickly create a gadget. You can drive traffic from your gadget on iGoogle to your website and help your organisation be seen and heard on this new platform.
“Your gadget could feature news from your organisation, blog updates, a YouTube video channel, polls, trends, speeches and more. You can submit your gadget to the iGoogle directory and drive additional usage of your gadget from your website,” Crow said.
With the US presidential elections looming, Crow said that Gadgets can be used by organisations to engage supporters, reach undecided voters and provide information to the uninformed.
“All you need to get started is access to a publicly available server where you can host your gadget files. If you already have a gadget, make sure it’s in the appropriate category, for instance politics or news,” Crow said.
By John Kennedy
