eHealth Marketing - Widgets/Gadgets
Introduction
Widgets, also sometimes referred to as gadgets, are small tools that users can add to a blog, social network profile or other Web page. CDC is currently developing widgets that contain information related to a specific CDC.gov topic and allow users to perform 
interactive functions within the tool. For example, a CDC widget containing the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report Map allows users to click through different states to see the spread of influenza over time. If you add this CDC widget to your Web site, users can interact with the updated CDC seasonal influenza activity map while remaining on your page.
Selected Project
Flu Widgets
CDC recently released the first Google Gadgets to allow users to include CDC Seasonal Flu updates as part of their personal homepages. The CDC.gov Seasonal Flu widgets can also be used to syndicate content onto other Web sites, such as blogs, health department Web sites, and other partner sites, allowing CDC.gov content to be presented within the context of the partner Web site. These widgets are available now at http://www.cdc.gov/widgets.
Public Health Impact
Using widgets to disseminate CDC news, information, data and research is an excellent way to extend the impact of CDC’s science beyond the pages of CDC.gov. Allowing users the ability to view and interact with CDC data from a partner Web site, blog or social network, provides additional opportunities for people to access important public health information. CDC is committed to using widgets and other new interactive tools to deliver health information when, where and how users want it.
CDC Partner
CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
Public Health Partner
Department of Health and Human Services
Page last modified on April 14, 2008