Name Widget (beta)
Name Widget enables you to enhance your blog or website by adding a visual representation of the people that you reference in your text. Don’t just make a text reference about the US election (e.g.
Michael Huckabee;
Barack Obama), celebrities (e.g.
Jessica Alba) or other names making news (e.g.
George Bush;
Nicolas Sarkozy) – bring them to life on your page. We automatically showcase the visually-appealing depiction (currently taken from the latest news) of the person whom you decide to highlight.
How do I use it?
It’s easy! Just copy this simple piece of HTML code and paste it in your blog or web article:
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.viewdle.tv/widgets/vface.js"></script>
<a class="vface">Name Surname</a>
Don't forget to change Name Surname to the real name for the person you need.
At this stage you are ready to go. Use it on your website or blog. It's free.
What else do I need to know?
Supported applications
Right now Name Widget works on standard html web sites, Blogger (blogspot.com), and Typepad.
Name Widget currently does not work on MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Xanga, LiveJournal, Hi5, Friendster, Tagged, Digg. Why not? These sites do not allow third party javascript inserted. However, this can be solved for each case, and we are actively working to enable Name Widget on these sites as soon as possible.
Supported browsers
We tested Name Widget under: IE6, IE7, Firefox 1.5.x, Firefox 2.0.x, Safari 3.0.
We currently do not support Opera, but we are working to add support for this browser.
Click-through
Names become web links after you've applied the widget to them. By default names
are links to search at reuters.viewdle.com. If you want to override this
rule and link names to other URL, just put href parameter inside <a ...>
tag. For example:
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424060/" class="vface">Scarlett Johansson</a>
Please note that bounding existing tag by one more <a > tag, like here:
<a href="http://www.imdb.com"><a class="vface">Penelope Cruz</a></a>
- is a wrong (!) way to override links.
Inserting javascript
Please note that this can be pasted into your html page only once:
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.viewdle.tv/widgets/vface.js"></script>
However you still need to apply
<a class="vface">...</a>
to every name-instance you want to widgetize.
Sound
We intentionally mute the sound in the video clip for each person, as the speech in the video may not be relevant to the subject of you web page or blog.
-
Exceptions
Viewdle’s proprietary back-end persons database (PersonsDB) is what makes Name Widget possible. Please understand that this database does not include all persons living or who have ever lived on Earth (…yet). Additionally, you will find that name is not always a unique identifier, as multiple people have the same name.
Therefore, you have three possible scenarios when applying Name Widget:
1) Exactly one person in Viewdle PersonsDB corresponds to the requested name. In this case the widget will work normally and you can relax. Example:
Condoleezza Rice.
2) The person with a requested name is not in Viewdle PersonsDB yet. In this case, the name will not be underlined in your text (no action will be taken by Name Widget). Example:
Muhamed Abduhamalalala.
3) Several persons from Viewdle PersonsDB correspond to requested name. In this case the name will go non underlined (no action will be taken by Name Widget). We are working on the feature where you will need to specify persons id to select whom exactly did you mean. This will be availble very soon.
