Google Launches Web Elements for Your Blog

I got a heads up yesterday from a reporter for the San Jose Mercury News that Google was launching some new tools for bloggers today at their annual developers conference, and she wanted to ask my opinion after the announcement (today). Never say "no" to a media interview, right?!

So I did some snooping around and found the page for Google press releases and refreshed the page at the appointed time of 9:00 a.m. PT. Voila, there was the release right on schedule.

Among other announcements, here's what Google has launched for blogs and websites:

Google Web Elements: A new product launching today, Google Web Elements is an easy way to incorporate Google products onto a website or blog. This includes content such as Maps, News and YouTube videos, as well as social comments functionality by Google Friend Connect. Already, Google has 4 billion API calls a day. Google Web Elements makes it even easier to add functionality to sites by choosing optional customizations and copying and pasting a few lines of code. More information is available at www.google.com/webelements.

Being the curious active experimenter that I am, I jumped right over to the site to check out the new elements.

You can add your calendar (share your events), global commenting, maps, custom search, news, slide presentations, spreadsheets and news videos. And Google has made it super easy to add these elements to your site.

I added Custom Seach to this blog. Simply choose what type of search you want, copy the HTML code they provide, and paste it in the sidebar of your blog.

Have an event you're promoting and want to include a map on the registration page or in a blog post? Choose the size map you want, type in the address, a title for the location and you immediately get the HTML to paste in your blog. Nothing could be easier. (click on the image to get the full size graphic)

If you write a blog about news and current affairs, why not add a video feed with news from The New York Times, CBS News Online, or Al-Jazeera English. Video adds "stickiness" and eye candy to your blog.

I'd love to hear your comments about the new Google Web Elements. How would you use them?

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