Re: What is the block called

Subject: Re: What is the block called
From: Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:57:14 -0700

On 7/25/2012 8:58 AM, John Posada wrote:

Hi, guys...your help on IS/ARE was valuable. Thanks

New question...if you have an application that places a block on your
Facebook Timeline, what is the official FB name of the block? If I was
doing a web page, I'd call it a widget, but I don't think that is
appropriate in the post-FB world.

It's an application. I know. That seems like a jacked-up naming convention, but that is what it's called.

I have applications that post from Drupal to Twitter and from Twitter to Facebook. Drupal has modules that provide blocks and views of tweets and provide some FB interaction. The Drupal modules, like other systems, require that the website has an application registered with the third-party. The application that connects to the third party is then used by Drupal or whatever system that built the application. The display of the results of that application, like tweets or a timeline, are called whatever they are called in the system. So, in Drupal, a display of tweets is a block or view of tweets.

Twitter has an application that can post tweets to a Facebook timeline. In Facebook, although the posts are coming from Twitter tweets, the posts on the timeline are called status updates.

Twitter also has widgets that will display tweets on websites, in other applications, or in other systems. Widgets are small applications that are controlled by system that provides the widget. So a Twitter widget is controlled by Twitter and a Facebook widget is controlled by Facebook.

The difference between an application and a widget, as I understand it, is in what controls the component. An application sends data from a system to the third party, while a widget is provided by the third party and is read by a system. So, if your component is sending data to a third party, then you have an application. If you are reading the component from a third party, then you have a widget.

The block where you display the the data from the component is called whatever it is called in your system. Twitter tweets posted to Facebook are posted in the Facebook timeline. Drupal posts made through an application to Twitter are posted in the Twitter timeline. Tweets and Facebook statuses received in a widget are posted to the widget but displayed in a block or view or whatever the system calls that space that contains the widget.

Facebook also has various games and other applications that people can place on their pages. All of these widgets and such are called applications in Facebook.





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What is the block called: From: John Posada

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