On the first day of the new year, SOHU boldly launched version 3.1 of the "Blog + Open Platform" Sohu Blog. The core of this version is the so-called "Sohu Blog Open Platform" (Sohu Open Widget, SOW). SOHU explains it as follows:
This platform aggregates various modules contributed by third-party websites or individuals, such as gaming, entertainment, and music modules. Bloggers can select their favorite modules from the open platform and easily add them to their own blogs. If you have unique ideas, you can also share them with others through the open platform. We believe that an increasing number of blog modules will bring countless new ways to play and enjoy.
From this, we can see that the so-called "Sohu Blog Open Platform" is actually the Widgets we often hang on the sidebars of our blogs. Through these Widgets, functions or services provided by other websites are displayed on one's Sohu blog. This method indeed brings convenience to bloggers who do not know how to use HTML code, enriching the functionality and fun of blogs while simplifying operational steps as much as possible.
However, SOHU exaggerates when it says it is a "open" blog platform. A trial of Sohu Blog 3.1 reveals that these Widget modules can only be used within the Sohu Blog system and are useless to other BSP users. Most importantly, the openness of this platform is mainly aimed at other commercial websites. For individual Sohu Blog users, unless they are willing to waste time studying its "module development guide," they can only passively choose the Widgets provided by Sohu. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty for individual users to customize Widgets.