Widgets and the MediaRoll
This question posted through our Feedback form highlights one of the least understood features of Screencast.com - The MediaRoll.
Sometimes a seemingly simple question creates even more questions, with answers that run off on tangents. Widgets are objects that present information to the viewer. Sometimes they're embedded on webpages and blog posts, like a collection of Tweets or Digg entries. Other times they are displayed on your computer desktop as a Sidebar in the case of Windows, or as a collection of tools on the Mac Dashboard.
Widgetbox is an online resource that lets you create widgets from various sources, like an RSS feed, a collection of YouTube videos, or some other source of video or image data. TechSmith's public folders and public and hidden playlists can be linked to by RSS, which means you can provide a folder RSS feed link to Widgetbox and create your own embeddable widget that displays that folder's contents. Keep in mind that RSS feeds are primarily used to present a subset of source data - usually the most recent 20 or so "items". If you have a large collection you want to present through some kind of widget, RSS may be too limiting.
TechSmith has its own "widget" called the MediaRoll. The MediaRoll is a Flash based viewer of content that gives a viewer insight into a folder or playlist on Screencast.com.
When you choose to share a folder or playlist, copy the "embed code for MediaRoll" presented in the share dialog box and paste that into your Website or blog post. If you don't like the look of our MediaRoll, you can customize it by adding parameters called FlashVars. This Help Center article will show you what you can do.
I hope this gives you some ideas as to what you can do with widgets, RSS and the MediaRoll today. in the future, we'll be improving our MediaRoll customization experience and even incorporating video playback elements into the MediaRoll object. Then there's also Silverlight and HTML5 to worry about since the MediaRoll won't display on an iPad... There's always so much to do. :)
-Dirk
Nice collection of photos. For you non-Michigan folks that might not be aware, UP stands for Upper Peninsula which is the part of Michigan that's not the "mitten" (http://screencast.com/t/MTcyMmEzYzQ) and often feels left out.
Really nice up there in summer! (Not that it's not absolutely wonderful here at work in Mid-Michigan...)
Mike Curtis, TechSmith
http://www.screencast.com/404.aspx
Videoen på linken vil ikke åpnes? Noen forslag?
How about including some links to further, SIMPLER explanations for those of us who have no idea what you're really talking about with widgets and RSS feeds and Media Rolls? Seems like this might be something I'd want to use ... expect I don't really understand what it is, so how can I decide whether and HOW to use it? It's like a foreign language to me and I need a translation guide. Not all readers of this Camtasia Studio newsletter are web designers, so give us a little help understanding what you're trying to tell us here!
I have seen widgets embedded corporate blogging posts or websites before. I usually see social media widgets like twitter or facebook feeds on blogs. I've never seen the MediaRoll widget on a blog before. I'll have to keep an eye out for it while reading my daily blogs.