You can't spend a day in the blogosphere [1] these days without running into five or ten posts about widgets. (For illustrations, see http://www.videoactivereport.com/widgets [1].)

Are people pumping these out on such an insane schedule because they work, or because everybody else is doing it -- and who wants to be left standing behind the curve?

Seems to me they're worth doing so long as your targets agree. Your widget has to have long-term value, rather than be an amusing trifle that will wear out its welcome in a week or two.

What do you think, widget lovers? How many do you use? And how long are you willing to spend trolling through widget sites looking through your thousands of options?