Gmail Labs is making it possible for us to add more gadgets to Gmail if we choose.  The first thing you need to do from your Gmail is to activate Gadgets by going to Settings, then Labs, and enabling “Add any gadget by URL.”  It’s at the bottom of the list at the moment.  Be sure to save changes.

Now navigate to Settings > Gadgets in order to add new gadgets.  They are all added by copying in a URL and saving your settings when you are finished.  Makeuseof.com has a list of URLs for 10 gadgets you might be interested in.

You probably won’t want them all in your sidebar.  If you are often on your Gmail page and wish you had easy access there to Twitter, too, you can add the TwitterGadget by copying in the URL from makeuseof.com’s post.  I tried it out just to see how it worked and it looked pretty usable.

I already have ways I manage Twitter, however, so I deleted the gadget and looked at the other possibilities.  They include Wikipedia, FriendFeed, World Clock (which I have on my Calendar), Digg, Calculator, Facebook and MySpace, none of which I decided I wanted in my Gmail sidebar.  (If you add several of these, it is handy to be able to minimize them when you don’t need them.)

However, the URL shortener, bit.ly, looked like just the thing — I frequently send links in my gmails and they can be quite long.  I added the gadget (the URL is long: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/107368512201818821991/bitly-shortener.xml) and found a use for it right in the next message I composed.  Works fine.

I already have the bit.ly URL shortener in my Bookmarks Toolbar, but having this gadget easily at hand in Gmail is great.  By the way, Firefox also has an extension called bit.ly preview so you can see “what lurks” beneath a bit.ly-shortened URL when you encounter one.  You might like to know before you go there.

IA released a new web trend map of the 200 most successful websites.  Download a variety of sizes, a clickable map with Snap Shots, or the screensaver.  [via Mashable]

Digg Flash API Contest Finalists
Digg judges have announced the top 10. You can view the prospects and vote for your favorite before 8 pm PDT on May 30th.  There will be three final winners.

101 Essential Blogging Resources
Logtrepreneur suggests a bunch of essential resources for bloggers, ranging from hosts to stats to monetization.

Writewith collaboration app
Writewith say, “We make writing online work for groups.  In just a few seconds, get your own account where you can upload documents, share with other people, chat, assign tasks, and track everybody’s actions with a comprehensive history.”  Take a look at the video demonstration.

At Lifehacker, Kyle Pott  notes that Writewith has lots of good features not available with Google Docs, including simultaneous editing, embedded chat, and the ability to upload or export documents at-will.

Facebook launches Facebook Platform
Facebook welcomes third party developers.  See also later posts by TechCrunch for further Facebook news.

Cnet.com’s Living with technology:
Keep your kids safe online
An online safety guide with links to resources, discussions, videos, free monitoring software

MySpace takes on Google News and Digg
MySpace is going into the news business with a service that will scour the internet for news stories and let users vote on which ones receive the most exposure, says Times Online.  The approach blends elements of Google News and sites such as Digg and Netscape, which rely on readers to submit stories and determine their prominence. 

Mozilla upgrades email client
Mozilla, best known for its Firefox web browser, has officially launched Thunderbird 2.0, an upgraded version of its email application.  Thunderbird can be downloaded free from the Mozilla website and can be configured to work with web-based email services such as Google’s Gmail.

I love the story in the Oct. 26, 2006 Business Week Online, by Carmine Gallo, called, “Digg This: Talking to Gen Y.”

Digg.com CEO Jay Adelson gives tips for communicating with the younger generation in the workplace, something that libraries, as well as other places of work, need to think specifically about.  The library profession is aging, therefore staff is less likely to be in close touch with the interests of Generation Y (born between 1977 to 2002).  If the popularity of Web 2.0 “products” is any gauge, there are definite generational characteristics that might affect how the library and its services (and staff) might be perceived.

Digg, is a site where registered users submit and vote on stories.  Millions of people a month submit, share, or read news articles “dug up” and posted by members of the Web community Digg.com.   You have probably seen Digg symbols on blog posts and stories.  Examples are shown here.  Their website says, “Digg is all about user powered content. Every article on digg is submitted and voted on by the digg community. Share, discover, bookmark, and promote the news that’s important to you!”

According to research compiled by RainmakerThinking and quoted in USA Today, Gen Y — the millennium generation — has high expectations for itself and its employers, seeking highly engaged managers to help them grow and develop their professional skills. 

CEO Adelson suggests that Gen Y folks ask themselves,”Am I important, and am I offering value?” and argues that younger workers are transforming the workplace from the “get rich quick” attitude of the ’90s to a culture of empowerment and contribution. At the end of the day, he says, these employees want to feel as though they are part of something essential and that they have contributed to its achievement. 

Of course, it is not just as employees that the characteristics of this generation should be considered. The idea that they want to contribute, share, and feel a part of the organization expresses itself in the popularity of social networking on the Web. Some libraries are reaching out to young patrons by blogging, podcasting, participating in MySpace and other social spaces, and are organizing their web presence to be attractive to those who value sharing and want to be an important part of the scene.  More power to them.