Google Launches Web Elements

A new tool makes it easy to add Google products to a personal Web site.

Kate Greenearchive page

May 27, 2009

There is a subset of software developers who are forever trying to build software that’s easier for non-developers to make. Google’s Blogger is a good example of this: anyone can quickly and easily set up a blog by walking through the steps; they don’t need HTML experience to start blogging in minutes.

In the spirit of simplifying software, Google announced a new way to easily integrate its products, like News and Maps, into a personal website. The offering is called Web Elements and was demonstrated today at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco.

At the event, DeWitt Clinton, the technical leader on Google’s developer team, illustrated how to use Web Elements within a blog. He embedded a Google News feed, a map, and a live conversation widget in about the same amount of time it takes to embed a YouTube video. While similar tools have been available for some time, it’s interesting to see Google’s take on letting users easily add some of its popular products to their sites. Currently there are eight products available, with the possibility of more to come.

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