Comments on: Quick Widget Update http://www.cycloneranger.com/2007/01/quick-widget-update.html "I see patterns" - Ernie Hacks Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:05:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Justin http://www.cycloneranger.com/2007/01/quick-widget-update.html/comment-page-1#comment-31 Justin Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-31 I'm not sure I really understand what a widget is I don't think. Isn't it just a piece of display code that draws from a source other than the requested server? I can't really figure how your assertions fit into this model. Basically the 'page' is still just a jumble of HTML rendered by the browser. Ajax allows for some dynamism in the display by introducing a pseudo client-server model, but the website remains stateless in a purely technical sense, right? What am I missing here? I have to admit when I hear "widget" I feel the same bile rising as when I hear marketing buzzword. To me it doesn't seem like anything revolutionary at all is happening. Again, what am I missing? I’m not sure I really understand what a widget is I don’t think. Isn’t it just a piece of display code that draws from a source other than the requested server? I can’t really figure how your assertions fit into this model. Basically the ‘page’ is still just a jumble of HTML rendered by the browser. Ajax allows for some dynamism in the display by introducing a pseudo client-server model, but the website remains stateless in a purely technical sense, right? What am I missing here?

I have to admit when I hear “widget” I feel the same bile rising as when I hear marketing buzzword. To me it doesn’t seem like anything revolutionary at all is happening. Again, what am I missing?

]]> By: chris http://www.cycloneranger.com/2007/01/quick-widget-update.html/comment-page-1#comment-32 chris Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-32 Yes, a Widget is exactly a piece of display code that draws a source from another server - both content and application data. One of the constraints of a website though is that it's functionality is restricted to a specific domain and context. Widgets can function cross-domain - Google Adsense is a great example of this functionality, as is their Urchin tracker. But the repeated implementations give Google cross-domain knowledge of user behaviors, and potentially cross-domain functionality. The revolution is less the "how" and more the "what". As user agents begin to really support JavaScript and long-tail content creators go searching for free site functionality, Widgets increase in presence and power, opening the door for new products like MyBlogLog. Yes, a Widget is exactly a piece of display code that draws a source from another server – both content and application data.

One of the constraints of a website though is that it’s functionality is restricted to a specific domain and context. Widgets can function cross-domain – Google Adsense is a great example of this functionality, as is their Urchin tracker. But the repeated implementations give Google cross-domain knowledge of user behaviors, and potentially cross-domain functionality.

The revolution is less the “how” and more the “what”. As user agents begin to really support JavaScript and long-tail content creators go searching for free site functionality, Widgets increase in presence and power, opening the door for new products like MyBlogLog.

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