How Marketers Tap Facebook and Twitter, Apps and Widgets

Digital Marketing Guide: The Social Web

By Abbey Klaassen and Beth Snyder Bulik

Published: March 30, 2009

Isn't the entire web social these days?

To an extent, yes. If 2008 was the year everyone -- and their grandmas -- joined a social network, then 2009 is the year those networks' social graphs spread their tentacles beyond their borders to other sites across the web. Already it's common for many sites, including major news sources and entertainment properties, to have commenting and sharing features. So we admit the social web is a pervasive concept. But there are several interesting newer developments at Twitter and Facebook, as well as in the widget space and the app world.

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As is typical, Facebook’s latest redesign triggered a torrent of user feedback. This time, Facebook responded quickly by tweaking the home page stream. In response to complaints that too much application content was filling users’ streams, a filter was added that allows users to block either an individual person or an application altogether. This change may slightly limit the stream’s power as a viral channel for applications, but clearly it was a much needed fix that greatly benefits the overall stream experience.

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TECHNOLOGY: Get used to the term application programming interface

by Allan Hoffman/For The Star-Ledger

Thursday April 16, 2009, 7:00 AM

When computing jargon slides into the public consciousness, you know something interesting is afoot.

Don't forget: The term "internet" was once viewed as entirely arcane and technical, but when it started to appear in the popular press, it signaled a sea change in the way people communicate with one another.

These days, technical terms ease their way into the popular lexicon at a rapid clip, partly because businesses, in particular, rely on technology for everything from back-end accounting systems to marketing campaigns. Java, HTML, CMS -- even if you don't really understand these terms, you've probably heard of them, and many of them are useful for advancing in today's technology-focused workplace.

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