About AddThis and Launchpad
As we announced on December 3rd, 2009, we have transitioned the Launchpad platform to the AddThis sharing platform. AddThis offers world-class sharing tools, including support for Flash widgets and embedded content.
The Launchpad console, analytics and related forums are no longer available as of April 5th, 2010.
Please note that existing widget installations will continue to be served through January 1st, 2011 with their last known configurations. Here is more info about the original Launchpad Terms of Service and Copyright Notices.
The following are answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions about this transition process.
Why did Clearspring turn off Launchpad?
Clearspring is the leader in content sharing. Over 1 billion users interact with Launchpad and AddThis on over 1.2 million sites every month. We've been completely focused on sharing for years. Given everything we've learned over that time, we believe that AddThis is a better way to share your content.
What happens to my data? How long will you keep it?
As we will be serving existing widget placements through January 1st, 2011, we will retain widget data through that time. We will destroy all data once we are no longer serving these widgets.
Feature Details
Standard embedded placements
Existing placements will serve with static containers until January 1st, 2011. This means that the containers will continue to load, and will continue to load your widget URL, but the configuration will remain static.
CNAME'd embedded placements
Behavior will be identical to the no-CNAME case if no changes are made. Since you control the CNAME, you can of course take over serving of that host on your own if you'd like, at any point.
Widget placements that involve some type of callback URL (e.g. iGoogle, NetVibes)
These callback URLs will serve statically through January 1st, 2011. This means that existing placements will continue to render, though will not be shareable.
Facebook and other Social Network Applications
Feed postings remain untouched. Launchpad-generated application pages revert to a default experience with sharing/installation disabled and default widget placement. Since Facebook applications are created in the context of your own developer account, you have the option at any time of replacing the application callback URLs and taking over the application to whatever purpose you like.
Widget Home Pages
Widget home page URLs now serve default pages with the default widget. We will turn off widget sharing over several weeks following April 5th, 2010.
Desktop Placements
Existing installed widgets remain intact; they are local assets to a user's computer, and will serve the default stale widget placements until January 1st, 2011.
Screenshot Images
Existing screenshot images will no longer update, and it will not be possible to refresh or re-take the screenshots. Any APIs exposed to perform those operations programmatically are no longer available. We highly recommend downloading any screenshots images as soon as possible as they are being phased out.
Gallery and Directory Pointers
If you added your widget to any Gallery or Application Directory locations, the entries in those external directories remain in the context of your own user account, even if they point to clearspring.com URLs. You may wish to change these entries to point to other URLs of your choosing, since although the existing wrappers remain active, sharing and other platform-specific features are being disabled shortly after April 5th, 2010.
Kernels
Kernels no longer serve at their existing URLs, so ideally you removed references to them before April 5th, 2010. If you did not, then if your widget correctly handles internal errors, existing serves are unaffected. Please visit our technical support forum with any questions.
The Widget Management Console
The console is no longer available.
Analytics Data Collection
Analytics are no longer collected.
Analytics Reporting
Reporting is no longer available.
Widget Management, Reporting, Placement and Gallery APIs (Web Services)
The API endpoints are no longer available.