Create an SBI e-Learning widget which you can use on Facebook

The direct link to this widget shows you what it looks like when added to a normal web page and I have sized it so that it would fit in a blog column or similar.

The widget has evolved over the past week as I've thought more about how it will be used.

The updated widget

This widget is a resource for all SBI-ers, but I have now included my RR URL in the promo box and marketing messages within the widget.

It provides 6 different tabs:

1) Feed of the SBI! Flickr gallery
2) Feed of latest SBI! forum posts
3) Feed of Ken's forum posts
4) Feed of 5P forum posts
5) Feed of Ken's Twitter posts
6) e-Learning promo

The widget has an SBI! logo plus 2 marketing messages in the heading ie 'Can you spare an hour of TV in the evening?' and 'You could build a website that looks like this!'

The adapted widget works in two key ways ... it's a useful tool and it markets SBI! in a (hopefully) subtle enough way:

1) I hope it's really useful for SBI-ers who are also on Facebook ... they can have everything from SBI! delivered directly to their Facebook page automatically. It's a 'one-stop-shop' for everything SBI-related.

2) For people who look at your Facebook page, I hope they will be enticed to click and explore the gallery. I'm now letting SBI! sell itself ... potential customers can see the excellent feeds we get from the forums, they can explore and view the gallery of excellent SBI! websites and they can take the next step and find out how they can make a web business like that themselves ... no hard sell, just an enticing invitation to explore.

So how do you take commissions from this widget?

Well, you do so by adding a screen grab of your SBI! website to the Flickr gallery and adding your personal marketing message to your own page, as I have done at http://www.flickr.com/photos/laptopmanpaul/3383308604/in/pool-1009491@N25. My RR URLs are included in those links, and you should do the same when you add your own screen grab to the gallery.

In addition of course, anybody can grab the widget directly at http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/site-build-it-websites and send it to many other social networking sites or just grab the code and add it to their website ... and non-SBI-ers can see, check out and install the widget themselves via the Widgetbox directory.

Adding the widget to Facebook

This widget allows me to add it to Facebook on my profile page.

I can share it with fellow SBI-ers on Facebook or other Facebook users can find it in the directory and add it to their own profiles or pass it around freely among their friends.

As you can see from the screen grab on the left, the widget sits neatly on your Facebook profile page ... notice though how you only get one line of a promo message?

If you click on any one of those website images, it will take you directly to the Flickr page of the person who created that website, so it's a great tool for all SBI-ers, even if it's currently set up to use my RR URLs in any clickable links.

For more techie readers, this has finally solved a big problem for me as I've actually been working on trying to get this Flickr feed embedded into Facebook for weeks.

My coding abilities are limited - I make a little go long way - and I just couldn't work out how to add an iframe or Javascript to Facebook.

Finally, the solution can be found with Widgetbox.com, but only via the paid version - $29 for a year, which isn't bad I suppose ... one SBI! commission and it's paid for!

More widget talk

This widget can be found at Widgetbox where it can easily be grabbed and installed on a variety of platforms, such as Facebook, Wordpress blogs and Blogger.

It will also be found in the Facebook Directory soon ... I have to get 5 people to install it first before it gets listed, so bear with me on that one.

If you'd like to find out how to make your own widgets in Widgetbox, I have produced a step-by-step guide on my own SBI! website which will guide you through the entire process.

Also, I have a page explaining how you can create your own Flickr galleries and embed them on your website, and you could use this technique to adapt the SBI! gallery for use elsewhere.

Finally, you can add a screen grab of your own SBI! website for free to the Site Build It! websites group that I have established at Flickr, and that way, everytime somebody uses this feed, you'll be getting a free promotion.

I have created a page explaining how to do this which outlines the process step-by-step, with screen grabs.

Important note & disclaimer

This widget and Facebook application is offered to the SBI! community as a joint resource which I hope will benefit us all.

You should note that I use my own RR URLs in the Flickr welcome page as you enter the group area and on my own website screen grab - like everybody else.

The links within the widget itself also link to my own RR URLs.

I cannot accept any responsibility for technical failures or problems with the feed and any queries about Flickr should be addressed to Flickr Help

I reserve the right to cancel and delete the widgets at any time, though if I leave the SBI! Flickr group, I will allow somebody else to become administrator so that the group continues.

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