Why we built the Web Sandbox
By exploring how the browser technology is being applied, we can better understand the desire for the Web Sandbox. The innovation curve behind Web 2.0 started by integrating AJAX and services which are encapsulated in the higher level distributed mash-up pattern. Mash-ups are the ability for service or experience components to be aggregated and applied to create a new experience. While maps are typically considered the driving force behind mash-ups, they are actually nothing new. When deciding where to go, it often helps to understand where we've been. So let’s begin with a brief history of web integration.
Mash-ups have been a part of the web’s fabric since its introduction. The first mash-ups were enabled by the simple image. Since images could load from anywhere on the web, simple integration could be achieved by referencing an image on another site. This approach was used as a partnering technology (e.g., hit counting) as well as establishing the original and most prevalent web business model, the banner advertisement.
Affiliate programs drove the next wave of integrated content and were one of the earliest forms of syndication. Affiliate programs were not only an evolution of advertising, they also established the first round of “modern” mash-ups with their integration strategy. Third-party sites (typically commerce sites) provide dynamic content (not just images) that advertised products or services on partner sites. This integration typically occurs by including a script from the partner on your site. This script dynamically returns an appropriate set of products or services to be displayed in the context of the site. Today, ad networks are the most ubiquitous affiliate program and most widely deployed mash-up scenario.
The fundamental shift that defined the modern mash-up was the ability to integrate richer experiences and disparate services into a site. This was driven by the integration of mapping scenarios. Leveraging the same approach used by affiliate programs, you can include scripts on your site that add direct and often essential value to the overall experience. The ability to integrate creates more rapid innovation at a lower cost. For example, it would be hard to imagine many of the geographically-oriented sites without integrated maps. Imagine if every property had to develop mapping technology from scratch? The modern mash-up is lowering the economic scale necessary to build innovative new sites. Many web projects would never have been economically feasible without the ability to leverage the scale and investments of others.
The latest web-wave is around user-generated content, social engineering, and self-expression. As with any progression, the buzzwords often evolve even if the underlying technology remains static. Today, the modern mash-up incorporates gadgets which are the combination of self-expression and mash-ups around widgets. Future advertising models are now incorporating the Gadget concept, even if there is very little fundamental difference in technology between a gadget and a rich media advertisement.
Even the traditional gadget is evolving. Many sites are introducing “platforms” enabling third-parties to become even more tightly integrated in extending a site's experience. Rather than augmenting the experience, sites are establishing a combination of client and server APIs. These APIs are becoming the extensibility model of the web.
The Web Sandbox was created in recognition of the weaknesses of the current platform and is our exploration of a potential solution. Having a more secure and robust architecture as a foundational building block will help drive the next wave of web innovation.