On one front, broadband reached critical mass and pushed online media consumption (and consumer reliance on it) to new heights, spurring a new rash of startups and the venture capital to fund and promote them. Amidst this new competition, our very audience became extraordinarily prolific, producing themselves countless gigabytes of blogs and photo galleries and videos that compete with established publishers not just for mindshare, but even for authority on almost all topics. And now even our advertisers are producing their own content, pimping out their own sites with unique content, video, games, and social networks.

Suddenly the online publishing business is full of irrational competitors--individuals or companies funded heavily with either time or marketing budget, without any pressing need for the revenue model and dependable metrics that established publishers are saddled with. It's almost enough to send talented online publishing executives off seeking work in the comparatively tranquil fields of TV or newspaper.

But don't jump ship just yet. Finally there is an opportunity for publishers to take a page out of marketers' playbooks, and simultaneously make allies out of the same consumers we are both courting: Widgets.

At their essence, widgets are applications for distributing content. "Widget marketing" is the term that achieved industry vernacular, but it could just as easily have been "widget publishing." And the tactics that make widgets popular among advertisers should likewise be appealing to publishers looking to deepen their relationship with existing readers, and broaden their audience.

Here, then, are seven rules for Widget Publishing success:

Rule 1: Simple is the new Clever.

Widgets don't work like any other way you've communicated to your audience. They're not a home page you can reconfigure to push visitors around to where you need them, or an email list where you can expect 95% deliverability and a 40% open rate. Their success is a function of their usability. And the widgets that have enjoyed the most success have been the ones that perform a single function, and do it quickly and cleanly. Scope creep is not allowed here.

Rule 2: Bring the Bling.

Many widgets catch on as a way of dressing up a site, both with content and a little pizzazz. Think jewelry for a Web site, but maybe not the tasteful, understated elegance of a pair of diamond studs or a pearl choker. Remember, the sites they're uploaded on are not your own. You can merchandise all of your content to draw attention where you most want it. Widgets have to command attention in unknown and diverse environments. Make them sparkle.

Rule 3: Speak Dog.

Because your widgets are aiming to find a home on someone else's site, the tone you employ should match that of the sites you want to distribute the widget, even if it means throwing your marketing director's style manual out the window.

Rule 4: Do What You Do Best.

Whatever content or utility you distribute through a widget can't simply be something that you have on your site. It has to be the content or utility that you are uniquely qualified to distribute. For example, iVillage offers a horoscope widget through its property Astrology.com. Excellent content, as Astrology.com is uniquely qualified. iVillage also has channels on Food, Home & Garden and Entertainment. And while they publish credibly on these topics, they're not seen as authorities on them as much as Epicurious, HGTV and E! Online, for example. So widgets mapping to these channels wouldn't enjoy nearly the same distribution.

Rule 5: Color Outside the Lines.

The best widget you can create is unlike anything that's been created so far. Be original and a little daring, not formulaic and timid.

Rule 6: Be Contagious.

Widgets achieve their distribution by getting uploaded onto someone's site, then viewed there by other people and uploaded onto their sites, and on and on and, if you're some combination of smart and lucky, on and on. Technology makes them easy to collect and re-distribute. But whatever it is that makes them remarkable is what prompts their viral spreading in the first place.

Rule 7: Be Useful.

Ultimately, widgets are content, and should offer a utility value comparable to the stickiest pages on your Web site. At times, this will mean making the hard decision of what to keep on your site next to your bill-paying ads, and what you will allow to freely roam the Web via widgets that produce no direct revenue, but which may contribute greatly toward your company's brand awareness or positioning. If the only content you're comfortable putting in a widget is the stuff all your remnant ads run alongside, your widget can only fall like a brick. If the people who love your site don't pay that content much attention, how can it be of any use to them (or you) anyplace else?

This commentary is insightful. I recommend it to others.