Social iGoogle gadgets let you share and have fun with people you know
Gadgets with social features let you share the things you do with friends who have the same gadget as you. Here are some ways to use these types of gadgets:
- Share info: Gadgets like the YouTube gadget let you share interesting news from across the Web with people you know.
- Play games: Challenge your friends to games and track high scores across a group of players.
- Work together: Gadgets like the To-Do List gadget let you see the same information as your friends, and collaborate on projects -- all on your iGoogle page.
Social gadgets are available only on Google.com and Google.com.au. We're working on making them available to all iGoogle users soon.
Follow these steps to start using social gadgets
- Sign in to your Google Account.
In order to maintain the privacy of gadget information shared between friends, gadgets' social features only work on iGoogle pages created with Google Accounts. Learn more about setting up iGoogle with a Google Account
- Add gadgets with social features to your page. You can tell a gadget has social features if it has the
icon in the top right corner. All social features are off until you turn them on, and gadgets will work normally if you decide not to enable social features. - Once you've added a social gadget, click the icon in the gadget. (If you're adding a social gadget for the first time, you can skip this step as the options should be open.)
- Enable social features for the gadget:
- Know who I am and see my Friends group
Select this checkbox to enable the gadget to connect you to contacts in your Friends group. This is the group of people with whom you can share social gadget and social gadget activities. - Post my activities to updates
Select this checkbox to enable updates for this gadget. (Learn more about updates)
- Know who I am and see my Friends group
- Ready to share the gadget with a few friends? Click the down arrow at the top-right corner of the gadget and select Share this gadget. Then enter your friends' email addresses and click Share gadget. These friends are automatically added to your Friends group and they'll receive a gadget invitation from you.
icon in the top right corner. All social features are off until you turn them on, and gadgets will work normally if you decide not to enable social features.
Accept gadget invitations
If someone sends you an invitation to add a social gadget that they're using, you'll see a Gadget shares notification in iGoogle's left side bar. Click the link to see your invitations. Once you accept an invitation, the gadget will be added to your iGoogle page (if it's not already there) and the person who invited you will be added to your Friends group (if they aren't already in it).
