Blog Enhancing through Extensions

Building Blog Enhancing

WidgetJure Cuhalev

jure@zemanta.com

Web widget is a hack in a system designed to push technical

and conceptual boundaries of existing infrastructure

we can make a service that seems to “understand” what you’re writing

about and can provide better recommendations

Contextual technology

Blog enhancing

It's a rainy afternoon here. I wish I would have a Persian Kitten to keep

me company.

What can we add?

Blog enhancing

It's a rainy afternoon here. I

wish I would have a Persian Kitten to

keep me company.

Blog enhancing

It's a rainy afternoon here. I

wish I would have a Persian Kitten to

keep me company.

hyperlink+ tags, articlesvideos, maps

and other annotations

lots of text

lots of platforms

Issues

how to provideconsistent and reliable

experience?

2 main approaches

Pre-publish

OpenCalais Tagarooextending Wordpress

Zemantaextending Typepad

Post-publish

Apture asa Javascript layer

Jiglu tag cloudwidget

(keyword based)

Cross-Domain AJAX

Limitation 1

(how to transport lots of text)

Cross-Domain XHR

•XmlHttpRequest = AJAX

•security model limits sending large amounts of data over different domains (POST)

api.contextual.commyblog.comGET

POST

solutions

•Browser Extensions - own AJAX call

•Proxy for plugin architectures

•Pull instead of push

•Cross-domain Flash Javascript bridge

•window.name technique

they are all hacks

interface decisions

•Teach users about Extensions and Toolbars

•Pull

•delayed parsing

•emulate instant gratification (good copy!)

•Improvise - provide non-contextual suggestions

Lots of platforms

Limitation II

3rd party web sites

•limited plugin infrastructure

•no plugins for hosted platforms (80%)

•wide range of themes

solutions

•Extensions and Toolbars

•bookmarklets

•Move reader side

interface decisions

•Overlaid annotating interfaces

•rich overlays

•Off-site dashboard

•Minimal set of tags of annotations

Practical

•Think Extensions / bookmarklets

•It’s a hack - anything goes

•Consider limitations of contextual technology used

Future

•W3C: Access Control for Cross-Site Requests

•OpenSocial for authoring-time widgets

•Extensions are becoming fundamental part of Browser experience

Questions?

•Apture - apture.com

•Jiglu - jiglu.com

•Tagaroo - tagaroo.opencalais.com

•Zemanta - zemanta.com