Embeddable chunks of code

Embeddable chunks of code have existed since the start of the World Wide Web. Web developers have long sought and used third party code chunks in their pages. It could be said that the original web widgets were the link counters and advertising banners that grew up alongside the early web. Later, ad and affiliate networks used code widgets for distribution purposes.
A widget is anything that can be embedded within a page of HTML, i.e. a web page. A widget adds some content to that page that is not static. Generally widgets are third party originated, though they can be home made. Widgets are also known as modules, snippets, and plug-ins.
Rich media, interactive entertainment widgets were first syndicated in large volume in 2001 by miniclip. Widgets are now commonplace and are used by bloggers, social network users, auction sites and owners of personal web sites. They exist on home page sites such as iGoogle, Netvibes, Pageflakes, SpringWidgets and yourminis. Widgets are used as a distribution method by ad networks such as Google’s AdSense, by media sites such as Flickr, by video sites such as YouTube and by hundreds of other organizations.