This type of Middlewarw Source is used to integrate social media content through our Middleware / Viz Social Plugin with your graphics insertion system allowing you to display, in real-time, Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram posts, Whatsapp messages, Twitch and Youtube comments, On-screen.
When you create this type of Middleware Source, you must associate it to the Collection from which it will take the data.
1. General Settings
Name (1): Naming your Collection Middleware Source is a good practice so that you and your teammates can identify it for later use.
Custom title (2): In the XML or Database; it appears in the title field/column.
Language (3): When a post comes with no Username information, the Collection Middleware Source by default changes To "Unknown Username". You can set the "Unknown Username" to English, Spanish or Portuguese language.
Hide Replied Users (4): You may choose if you wish to hide replied users from tweets.
2. Collection
When you create a Middleware Source of this type, you should assign to it a Collection that contains the posts you will display.
Click on Select to choose a Collection (1)
Select the Collection you want to connect to the Middleware Source (2)
3. Integration
Integration type (1): Select how you want to integrate the data according to the graphics system you have. If it is not listed click others.
Vizrt Integration
Version (2): This refers to the Middleware version. We recommend to always use the higher from the dropdown.
Connect to Middleware (3): Enable it, pick your middleware from the dropdown and find the destination path where the File or Database are being written in your destination unit by the middleware.
Download Media (4): You can choose to download the images and videos your middleware fetches and store them locally. Take into account that videos are available only for version 4.0 onwards.
Download Profile Pictures (5): You can choose to download the user profile pictures your middleware fetches and store them locally.
XML integration
4.1.1 XML Example
<ticker> <widgetId>26926</widgetId> <title>Sample Ticker DS</title> <posts> <post> <id>770351404896714757</id> <userName>John Smith</userName> <screenName>johnsmith</screenName> <text> How Social Media can help your Customer Journey - Download for Free http://hubs.ly/H038rYB0 #ebook #customerjourney </text> <url> https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/767771568575512576/kp-8wCsF.jpg </url> <date>1472501062000</date> <verified>false</verified> <publisher>twitter</publisher> <geolocation> <latitude>40.745592</latitude> <longitude>-73.987857</longitude> </geolocation> <mainMediaURL> http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B89jMqKIgAAM2Fu.jpg:large </mainMediaURL> <mainMediaType>jpg</mainMediaType> <localMainMediaPath>/path/to/downloaded/media/image.jpg</localMainMediaPath> <mainVideoURL> http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B89jMqKIgAAM2Fu.mp4 </mainVideoURL> <mainVideoType>mp4</mainVideoType> <localMainVideoPath>/path/to/downloaded/media/video.mp4</localMainVideoPath> <originalUserName>Flowics</originalUserName> <originalScreenName>flowics</originalScreenName> <originalUrl>https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1232/maoNYpMK_normal.jpeg</originalUrl> <originalDate>1472501062001</originalDate> <originalVerified>true</originalVerified> <displayUserName>John Smith</displayUserName> <displayScreenName>johnsmith</displayScreenName> <displayUrl> https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/767771568575512576/kp-8wCsF.jpg </displayUrl> <localAvatarPath>/path/to/downloaded/media/avatar-kp-8wCsF.jpg</localAvatarPath> <displayDate>1472501062000</displayDate> <displayVerified>false</displayVerified> </post> ... </posts> </ticker>
4.1.2 Fields Description
Note that some field names change when using the Avid Maestro integration type.
Field | Description | Field (Avid Maestro integration) |
ticker.widgetId | Id of the widget. | ticker.widgetId |
ticker.title | Title of the ticker, as configured in the Widget. | ticker.title |
ticker.posts.post.id | Id of the post within the social network (e.g., id of the Tweet). | ticker.posts.post.idX |
ticker.posts.post. | Full username within the social network. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | Username. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post.text | Post's text. | ticker.posts.post.text |
ticker.posts.post.url | URL to the avatar of the user who generated the post. | ticker.posts.post.urlX |
ticker.posts.post.date | Date on which the post was published (milliseconds passed since the epoch). | ticker.posts.post.dateX |
ticker.posts.post.verified | Boolean that indicates whether the user who generated the post is verified. | ticker.posts.post.verifiedX |
ticker.posts.post.publisher | Indicates the social network in which the post was published (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). | ticker.posts.post.publisher |
ticker.posts.post. | If present, indicates the latitude in which the post was published. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | If present, indicates the longitude in which the post was published. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | URL to image posted by the user. It may be empty. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. mainMediaType | Image type of the media URL. It may be empty. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | URL to video posted by the user. It may be empty. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | Video type of the video URL. It may be empty. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | In the case of retweets, full name of the user whose Tweet was retweeted. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post. | In the case of retweets, username whose Tweet was retweeted. | ticker.posts.post. |
ticker.posts.post.originalUrl | In the case of retweets, url of the avatar of the user whose Tweet was retweeted. | ticker.posts.post.originalUrl |
ticker.posts.post.originalDate | In the case of retweets, time at which the tweet published was retweeted. | ticker.posts.post.originalDate |
ticker.posts.post.originalVerified | In the case of retweets, boolean that indicates whether the user whose Tweet was retweeted is verified. | ticker.posts.post.originalVerified |
The following fields help with the proper compliance with the guidelines for viewing contents. E.g., for Twitter these fields will contain the information of the tweet and original user, and may display correctly both tweets as RTS.
ticker.posts.post.displayUserName | Full Name of the user in the Social Network that should be displayed. | ticker.posts.post.displayUserName |
ticker.posts.post.displayScreenName | Username to be displayed. | ticker.posts.post.displayScreenName |
ticker.posts.post.displayUrl | URL to the avatar of the user that should be displayed. | ticker.posts.post.displayUrl |
ticker.posts.post.localAvatarPath | Full path to downloaded avatar image taken from 'displayUrl'. | ticker.posts.post.localAvatarPath |
ticker.posts.post.displayDate | Date of the post that should be displayed (milliseconds since the epoch). | ticker.posts.post.displayDate |
ticker.posts.post.displayVerified | Boolean indicator verified user that should be displayed. | ticker.posts.post.displayVerified |
Database integration
When using this kind of integration, a database table with the following columns is created. The type of columns is textual. For the specific type, check the middleware configuration, but they typically are text for MySQL or PostgreSQL and ntext for Microsoft SQL Server.
Column | Description | Column (Avid Maestro integration) |
widgetId | Id of the widget (same value for each row). | widgetId |
title | Title of the ticker, as configured on the Widget (same value for each row). | title |
id | Id of the post within the social network (e.g., id of the Tweet). | idX |
userName | Full username within the social network. | userNameX |
screenName | Username. | screenNameX |
text | Post's text. | text |
url | URL to the avatar of the user who generated the post. | urlX |
date | Date on which the post was published (milliseconds passed since the epoch). | dateX |
verified | Boolean that indicates whether the user who generated the post is verified. | verifiedX |
publisher | Indicates the social network in which the post was published (e.g., twitter, facebook, instagram). | publisher |
geolocation_latitude | If present, indicates the latitude in which the post was published. | geolocation_latitude |
geolocation_longitude | If present, indicates the longitude in which the post was published. | geolocation_longitude |
mainMediaUrl | URL to image posted by the user. It may be empty. | mainMediaUrl |
mainMediaType | Image type of the media URL. It may be empty. | mainMediaType |
localMainMediaPath | Full path to downloaded image taken from 'mainMediaUrl'. It may be empty. | localMainMediaPath |
mainVideoUrl | URL to video posted by the user. It may be empty. | mainVideoUrl |
mainVideoType | Video type of the video URL. It may be empty. | mainVideoType |
localMainVideoPath | Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty. | localMainVideoPath |
originalUserName | In the case of retweets, full name of user whose Tweet was retweeted. | originalUserName |
originalScreenName | In the case of retweets, name of user whose Tweet was retweeted. | originalScreenName |
originalUrl | In the case of retweets, url of the avatar of the user whose Tweet was retweeted. | originalUrl |
originalDate | In the case of retweets, time at which the tweet published was retweeted. | originalDate |
originalVerified | In the case of retweets, boolean that indicates whether the user whose Tweet was retweeted is verified. | originalVerified |
The following fields help with the proper compliance with the guidelines for viewing contents. E.g., for Twitter these fields will contain the information of the tweet and original user, and may display correctly both tweets as RTS.
displayUserName | Full Name of the user in the Social Network that should be displayed. | displayUserName |
displayScreenName | Username to be displayed. | displayScreenName |
displayUrl | URL to the avatar of the user that should be displayed. | displayUrl |
localAvatarPath | Full path to downloaded avatar image taken from 'displayUrl'. | localAvatarPath |
displayDate | Date of the post that should be displayed (milliseconds since the epoch). | displayDate |
displayVerified | Boolean indicator verified user that should be displayed. | displayVerified |
JSON File integration
6.1.1 JSON Example
{ "widgetId":34310, "title":"Ticker JSON", "posts":[ { "id":"1313886440342859777", "userName":"blackbird", "screenName":"artsportfun", "text":"Lionel Messi as Picasso artwork.\n#Messi", "url":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1273927994248237056/SQbufxfs_reasonably_small.jpg", "date":1602089912000, "verified":false, "publisher":"twitter", "geolocation":null, "mainMediaUrl":"http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjvcwBWWoAAJC7Z.jpg:large", "mainMediaType":"image/jpeg", "mainVideoURL":null, "mainVideoType":null, "originalUserName":"", "originalScreenName":"", "originalUrl":"", "originalDate":"", "originalVerified":"", "displayUserName":"blackbird", "displayScreenName":"artsportfun", "displayUrl":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1273927994248237056/SQbufxfs_reasonably_small.jpg", "displayDate":1602089912000, "displayVerified":false, "localMainVideoPath":"", "localAvatarPath":"C:\\Midlleware test\\media\\https\\3rd-cdn.flowics.com\\dbadb934889b5bedd77b92e0e8c17199fd070d4b.jpg" }, { "id":"1313886950647099393", "userName":"Yanger Jamir", "screenName":"YangerJ24108662", "text":"@Lionel_Messi_ID Leo please don't be discouraged you are the best player....when you are sad I feel you but nothing is impossible.. bring the la Liga home #messi", "url":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1230915842172321792/aGwL_eQe_reasonably_small.jpg", "date":1602090034000, "verified":false, "publisher":"twitter", "geolocation":null, "mainMediaUrl":null, "mainMediaType":null, "mainVideoURL":null, "mainVideoType":null, "originalUserName":"", "originalScreenName":"", "originalUrl":"", "originalDate":"", "originalVerified":"", "displayUserName":"Yanger Jamir", "displayScreenName":"YangerJ24108662", "displayUrl":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1230915842172321792/aGwL_eQe_reasonably_small.jpg", "displayDate":1602090034000, "displayVerified":false, "localMainVideoPath":"", "localAvatarPath":"C:\\Midlleware test\\media\\https\\3rd-cdn.flowics.com\\4cff42e9a49ae719043434106b08d5618e2e2ceb.jpg" }, { "id":"1313889353710542849", "userName":"Nexho_11", "screenName":"Nexho__11", "text":"#CFC #MESSI #CHELSEAFC", "url":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1263412725780303874/LvAkrt52_reasonably_small.jpg", "date":1602090607000, "verified":false, "publisher":"twitter", "geolocation":null, "mainMediaUrl":null, "mainMediaType":null, "mainVideoURL":null, "mainVideoType":null, "originalUserName":"", "originalScreenName":"", "originalUrl":"", "originalDate":"", "originalVerified":"", "displayUserName":"Nexho_11", "displayScreenName":"Nexho__11", "displayUrl":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1263412725780303874/LvAkrt52_reasonably_small.jpg", "displayDate":1602090607000, "displayVerified":false, "localMainVideoPath":"", "localAvatarPath":"C:\\Midlleware test\\media\\https\\3rd-cdn.flowics.com\\222cc504f7d67ccc3057036fc5d81758be6472e8.jpg" } ] }
6.1.2 Fields Description
Field | Description |
widgetId | Id of the Widget |
title | Title of the ticker, as configured in the Widget. |
posts.id | Id of the posts. within the social network (e.g., id of the Tweet). |
posts.userName | Full username within the social network. |
posts.screenName | Username |
posts.text | Post's text. |
posts.url | URL to the avatar of the user who generated the post. |
posts.date | Date on which the post was published (milliseconds passed since the epoch). |
posts.verified | Boolean that indicates whether the user who generated the post is verified. |
posts.publisher | Indicates the social network in which the post was published (e.g., twitter, facebook, instagram). |
posts.geolocation | If present, indicates the latitude and longitude in which the post was published. |
posts.mainMediaUrl | URL to image posted by the user. It may be empty. |
posts.mainMediaType | Image type of the media URL. It may be empty. |
posts.mainVideoUrl | URL to video posted by the user. It may be empty. |
posts.mainVideoType | Video type of the video URL. It may be empty. |
posts.originalUserName | In the case of retweets, full name of user whose Tweet was retweeted. |
posts.originalScreenName | In the case of retweets, name of user whose Tweet was retweeted. |
posts.originalUrl | In the case of retweets, url of the avatar of the user whose Tweet was retweeted. |
posts.originalDate | In the case of retweets, time at which the tweet published was retweeted. |
posts.originalUserName | In the case of retweets, full name of user whose Tweet was retweeted. |
posts.originalVerified | In the case of retweets, boolean that indicates whether the user whose Tweet was retweeted is verified. |
posts.localMainMediaPath | Full path to downloaded image taken from 'mainMediaUrl'. It may be empty. |
posts.localMainVideoPath | Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty. |
The following fields help with the proper compliance with the guidelines for viewing contents. E.g., for Twitter these fields will contain the information of the tweet and original user, and may display correctly both tweets as RTS.
posts.displayUserName | Full Name of the user in the Social Network that should be displayed. |
posts.displayScreenName | Username to be displayed. |
posts.displayUrl | URL to the avatar of the user that should be displayed. |
posts.displayDate | Date of the post that should be displayed (milliseconds since the epoch). |
posts.displayVerified | Boolean indicator verified user that should be displayed. |
posts.localAvatarPath | Full path to downloaded avatar image taken from 'displayUrl'. |