Where does this fit into the grand scheme of things?
The oEmbed API returns simple embed HTML in an oEmbed-compatible format. You can use the oEmbed API to programmatically return embedded content, such as Tweets and timelines.
The response from the oEmbed API will return an HTML snippet that will be automatically recognized when Twitter’s widget JavaScript is included on the page.
Please note that the API is recommended for performing tasks in bulk, and we advise using our robust publish.twitter.com tool for embedding content.