Bridging the Facebook Widget Gap
As part of our ongoing efforts to bring widgets and social networking “applications” together, today we’re announcing a major upgrade to our Facebook support. We now allow users to quickly post widgets onto their Facebook profile pages, as first-class applications and with full permanence. Widget developers can use the Clearspring distribution platform to configure their widget for use on Facebook, and even set it up as a Facebook Application. End users can use the viral sharing services built into every widget to install it into their Facebook accounts. This is in addition to all the other sharing services, like those for all the major social networks, blog platforms, and more.
Some highlights:
- Flash widgets as Facebook apps: Widgets look, and act, just like other Facebook applications — they can be dragged around the profile, shared with friends, registered in the directory, and more
- Easy-to-use application wizard: A step by step wizard helps widget developers create Facebook Applications corresponding to their Clearspring-registered widgets, guiding them through all the steps of setting up keys and configuring URLs
- No Facebook-specific skills required: All the developer needs to worry about is their core Flash widget, the Clearspring platform takes care of hosting a Facebook application, using the Facebook API, responding to callbacks, and rendering application pages — for the widget developer, its write once, run everywhere
- Full viral spread: Once a widget is set up as a Facebook Application, it can spread virally throughout Facebook just like other applications, but also keeps the non-Facebook viral sharing services — services that can get the widget just about anywhere on the web — as well
Bottom line, by using Clearspring’s platform for distribution, widget developers give their end users the ability to share their widgets between just about any possible destination on the web, in the most compelling way possible.
Most Facebook widget solutions (including Clearspring’s previous offering) have been simple “post to my feed” affairs. This is the next level. And all of the viral activity around these applications is trackable by the widget developer, as with all Clearspring-enabled widgets.
Widget developers, take a look at the feature documentation for more info on how this all works. And if you’re not a current user of the platform, there’s no time like the present to sign up for free.
As part of Clearspring’s ongoing efforts to integrate with all of the drop points on the web, this is just the start of our advanced support for Facebook. Stay-tuned for more announcements…
September 4th, 2007 at 8:37 am
[...] the dominant widget distribution platform, has just expanded their distribution to Facebook. This is a huge opportunity for widget developers. While Facebook has tried to move away from [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 4:17 am
This is a great addition, much valued by branded application developers and interactive communications agencies and will help us further develop our appvertising platform.
Adam Martin
December 29th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
[...] Facebook link in the ClearSpring sharing menu does not by default publish your widget as a application on Facebook (see below). This “Post [...]