Some geek-focused services allow you to configure a webhook that will be triggered in response to [domain specific stimuli], such as a new order placed on your Shopify store.
The webhook is just the URL of a service that responds to the request in a hopefully useful way. When someone purchases my item, Shopify will post a request to the URL that contains useful information about the action.
In this manner, I can build interesting services that respond to events that happen on other websites. Providing webhooks is a pretty awesome thing to do, but it's not useful for non-developers in 2012.
The webhook is just the URL of a service that responds to the request in a hopefully useful way. When someone purchases my item, Shopify will post a request to the URL that contains useful information about the action.
In this manner, I can build interesting services that respond to events that happen on other websites. Providing webhooks is a pretty awesome thing to do, but it's not useful for non-developers in 2012.