Fred Wilson puts a shiny new thing on his blog and asks readers for their opinion. The result? They hate it.

It's far too easy to junk up your blog with all the widgets and other 'shiny things' that are out there. Before you put something on your blog template think:

1. Is it useful to my readers?
2. Does it look good/fit with my design?

I would say that #1 always trumps #2 but an ugly eyesore with usability issues can ruin a good idea.

Look for widgets that offer a number of design options or allow you to customize the design via CSS. For example Plazes offers a number of options for their badge.