Widgets are everywhere. Google gadgets, Facebook apps, Flickr badges, Slide.com slideshow tools–these little programs you to spice up your profile and add cool, exciting content to your web site. Better yet, you don’t need to have a masters degree in programming to use these things–it’s mostly just cut-n-paste all the way.

I love ‘em, and even here at Lulu we’ve made it so our storefronts can accept some of these widgets (ImageLoop, RSS feeds), and we’ve also created ways for our creators to showcase their content on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace.

In fact, Newsweek properly predicted that 2007 was the year of the widget, and there’s no denying that the functionality made great strides this year. As Jon Swartz of USA today writes:

Americans, meanwhile, are fast catching on to the joys of the snazzy new mini-programs. Awareness and use of widgets among online users, which was less than 5% in early 2007, has zoomed to more than 39% and 26%, respectively, says JupiterResearch.

I’d go even further and say that this whole phenomenon has become a bit over-whelming. More and more companies (and even individuals) are developing these little applications, and the growth in user adoption, by even the most casual Internet user, has driven an exponential increase in the pervasiveness of these online critters.

These things have taken over, and there’s no going back.

As a matter of fact, things have just become more interesting. Google’s Open Social initiative has recently entered the game, and major players have partnered with them as they all try to counter the head-start that Facebook achieved in this space (fortunately for Google, Facebook is currently distracted by their Beacon fiasco) . Even platforms like Flux fit somewhere in the mix, but where–I don’t know.

Looking forward into 2008, the excitement of widgets goes beyond cross-posting of blogs, showcasing of photos, or showing what your friends are doing. There’s potential for this capability to dramatically revolutionize the landscape, especially in the merging of premium content, user-generated content, and ecommerce–both on the web and in the mobile space. That’s what Google and the big players are thinking, and they’re not alone.

So, enjoy the advantages that these widgets provide. For us that use the web for social networking, they’re the best thing since sliced bread. For those of us looking to develop the Next Big Thing, it just might be the ticket to another “Netscape Moment.”