Tracking changes to content on an external source in an online social network

1. A method comprising,

accessing, by one or more computer systems associated with an online social network, a page of the online social network associated with a first user of the online social network, the page comprising an identifier of a third-party web site that is separate from and external to the online social network, the third-party web site being associated with an external server that hosts an external content on the third-party web site;

determining, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, that a lifetime associated with a cached external content associated with the identifier exceeds a minimum lifetime, wherein the cached external content is from the third-party web site;

based on the determination that the lifetime associated with the cached external content exceeds the minimum lifetime, querying, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, the external server associated with the third-party web site for update information associated with the first user using credentials associated with the first user;

receiving, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, a response to the query from the external server associated with the third-party web site, the response comprising the update information associated with the first user;

based on the response from the external server, determining, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, that the first user made an update on the third-party web site that is associated with the external content;

updating, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, the page of the online social network associated with the first user to include a reference to the external content on the third-party web site based on the determination that the first user made the update on the third-party web site that is associated with the external content;

accessing, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, a tracking preference of a second user of the online social network, the tracking preference comprising one or more types of content updates that the second user wants to track;

determining, by the one or more computer systems of the online social network, that the update made by the first user on the third-party web site is of the one or more types of content updates that the second user wants to track, according to the tracking preference of the second user; and

sending, by the one or computer systems of the online social network, a notification of the update to the page to the second user of the online social network.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the one or more of the computer systems of the online social network, that the first user has interacted with the external content, wherein the interaction of the first user with the external content comprises one or more of the first user accessing, adding, or updating the external content on the third-party web site.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to the external content comprising an activatable link to the external content on the third-party web site.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to the external content comprises an activatable link to a page on the third-party web site that includes the external content.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to the external content comprises an activatable link to a cache of the external content hosted by a server associated with the social networking system.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to the external content further comprises a description of the update made by the first user associated with the external content.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to the external content further comprises a thumbnail of the external content.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to the external content is added to the page associated with the first user using a syndicated feed.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification comprises an activatable link to the page associated with the first user.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification comprises an activatable link to the external content.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the external content to the second user.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the online social network comprises a graph structure defining relationships between users, the graph structure comprising a plurality of nodes and information defining connections between the nodes, wherein each node corresponds to a particular user and a profile page of the particular user, and wherein a degree of separation between any two nodes is a minimum number of connection hops required to traverse the graph structure from one node to the other.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the external content is a photograph and the third-party web site is a photo sharing web site.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the external content is a video and the third-party web site is a video sharing web site.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the external content is a blog or blog post and the third-party web site is a blogging web site.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifier of the third-party web site is a name of the third-party web site or a web site address associated with the third-party web site.

17. A social networking system associated with an online social network, comprising:

a memory comprising instructions executable by one or more processors; and

the one or more processors coupled to the memory and operable to execute the instructions, the one or more processors being operable when executing the instructions to:

access, by the social networking system, a page of the online social network associated with a first user of the online social network, the page comprising an identifier of a third-party web site that is separate from and external to the online social network, the third-party web site being associated with an external server that hosts an external content on the third-party web site;

determine, by the social networking system, that a lifetime associated with a cached external content associated with the identifier exceeds a minimum lifetime, wherein the cached external content is from the third-party web site;

based on the determination that the lifetime associated with the cached external content exceeds the minimum lifetime, query, by the social networking system, the external server associated with the third-party web site for update information associated with the first user using credentials associated with the first user;

receive, by the social networking system, a response to the query from the external server associated with the third-party web site, the response comprising the update information associated with the first user;

based on the response from the external server, determine, by the social networking system, that the first user made an update on the third-party web site that is associated with the external content;

update, by the social networking system, the page of the online social network associated with the first user to include a reference to the external content on the third-party web site based on the determination that the first user made the update on the third-party web site that is associated with the external content;

access, by the social networking system, a tracking preference of a second user of the online social network, the tracking preference comprising one or more types of content updates that the second user wants to track;

determine, by the social networking system, that the update made by the first user on the third-party web site is of the one or more types of content updates that the second user wants to track, according to the tracking preference of the second user; and

send, by the social networking system, a notification of the update to the page to the second user of the online social network.