Technology As Innovator

We thought Web Service was good. It certainly is!

Web Service has brought the economy to the web. There is no need to repeat what Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! and Google all have done.

Web 2.0 and a different approach

But another approach is rising fast. Web service providers now make their product a Web Platform.

They build up a very good core based on solid philosophy. Then they provide API for developers to build applications on.

Browser

With their defeat by Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5, Mozilla temporarily withdrew and launch their next hit: Firefox.

As in September 2007, market share of Firefox reaches 35.4%, according to W3C.

One important reason why Firefox has become this popular is due to its extensions gallery. A huge collection of well-done small web services are offered for free by developers worldwide.

Many of Firefox extensions are done to support other web services such as Google Search, Blogging, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, digg, Amazon, eBay.

Gradually, the browser becomes one of the largest centralized points of the web.

Social Networking

Talking about Social Networking today, we have to praise Facebook immediately.

Facebook is also doing very well to provide their API so that applications can be developed on a very good and mature skeleton.

Most successful Facebook applications support networking purpose such as free gifts, messages, testimonials, collaborative games.

The goal of a social networking site is to become the home of as many activities of users as possible.

Content Management Systems

WordPress, Joomla, phpBB have been building communities around them.

Themes allow personalization.

Plugins allow customization.

Most of all, the platform allow monetization.

Conclusion: Web Platforms

Looking at these obvious examples, we see that Firefox, Facebook, WordPress et al offer a very solid and useful core and highly flexible and open API on which applications, extensions, addons, plugins, themes can grow and develop.

They have become Web Platforms to Web Services.

These Web Services in turn make the Platforms new and ever-changing.

Future: Information Depot

In near future, or maybe now already, we’ll see these central points become Information Depot in Semantic Web.

When a web seller wants to approach specific market segment, it should know what and how the potential customers are like. How? From Information Nodes such as e-Commerce sites and Social Networking sites. It would go to Amazon to get information on the customers’ buying preferences, and go to Facebook to get information on the customers’ networks and personal interests.

Can you imagine what happens next? These Information Depots will be able to manipulate the information in whichever way they prefer, not limited to making the information available, for prices.

Conclusion

We’re moving from separated glamorous isles to metropolitans on the web.

You will be able to do many things on a single website. Enjoy the sweetness it brings, while not lowing your guard on diabetes.

1. Install Facebook Developer Application

Add The Facebook Developer Application

2. Install PHP Facebook API Client Library

Facebook API

Unzip the library into a web folder that is accessible by your PHP scripts.

3. Creating Your Application Profile And API Key

1. Go to the developer panel, click “Set Up New Application”.
2. Input application name
3. Go to “Optional Fields”, input “Callback Url” with the location of your script. This is the public URL on your webserver where the Facebook application will be.
4. Input “Canvas Page URL”. This is your application URL within Facebook. The application named “Hello World” would make the full URL http://apps.facebook.com/helloworld
5. “Can your application be added on Facebook?” => “Yes”
6. Check “Developer Mode” checkbox until you have completed the application.
7. Under “Integration Points” fill out “Side Nav URL” with the full “Canvas Page URL” http://apps.facebook.com/helloworld. This allows users to add your application to their Facebook left side bar navigation.
8. Obtain the API Key and Secrete

4. Hello Facebook!

<?php

require_once('facebook/client/facebook.php');/* initialize the facebook API with your application API Key and Secrete */

$facebook = new Facebook(YOUR_API_KEY,YOUR_SECRETE_CODE);?>

Hello <fb:name uid='<?php echo $fb_user; ?>' useyou='false' possessive='true' />! Welcome to Facebook application!

And there, we’re done!

Have you known all Google Free services apart from Search and Email?

Have you utilized all Google search options?

Test your Google knowledge by viewing this presentation:


Tai Tran's Lab: Technology As Innovator