I came across this site about a month ago while I was searching for new, simple ways of creating dynamic widgets on the web. I’m glad the Google gods were good to me, because Sprout has made my job soooo much easier! What is Sprout, you ask? Well, basically:

Sprout is a quick and easy way for beginner and pro users to create living content including, websites, banners, videos, music, photos, RSS feeds, calendars and more.

After I initially Googled the Sprout site, I signed up to be on the “private beta” list, and created a small group of media player-type sprouts. Today, Sprout is officially in “open beta”, so if you feel inclined to test your multimedia design prowess, give it a shot.

I also noticed today that Sprout featured two of the sprouts I created: one for Erykah Badu‘s new album (on the homepage) and one for Sheryl Crow‘s latest album (on the “what is sprout” page under “promotional”)! Sprout is definitely a great way to get your ‘widget’ out there and spread virally on the web. A very effective promotional tool.

Of course I do feel a bit sad that a few of my Flash/Actionscript skills are becoming a tad obsolete since now everyone from novice to pro can create amazing sprouts so easily, but who am I to complain? Less work = a more happy me. :D

With the public release of Sprout Beta, there are a lot of cool features to aid in the creation of sprouts: pre-built templates, dozens of components, and additional properties. Kudos to Sprout and their great team for creating a great open-source product that’s accessible to everyone!