Submitted by chris on February 12, 2007 - 10:47pm.
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.
Don't get caught up in the technical details
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.