The Era of APIs
March 30 2010 by Tiffany Blosser ~ 0 CommentsWithout getting too technical (because I can’t!), here’s what I think an API (application programming interface) is: it’s an interface implemented by a software program to enable interaction with other software. What I think is important about APIs is the ability to share content and create a more open web. For example, photos on Flickr can be shared on Facebook, or a presentation on Slideshare can be shared on LinkedIn. These sites are linked together for sharing content, and that’s why they’re so cool.
But these application programming interfaces means something more than just having an internet architecture that is more open. It means something for search marketers too, because APIs are changing the way we understand search. We are moving away from the world of “links as gods,” where the value of a website is based on how high it ranks on searches. And links aren’t going to be the only way to navigate around the internet.
We’re moving to a structure of an API web economy. We’ve seen it on Google already. Real-time information from Twitter and Facebook is showing up on search results. APIs make it easier to source products and services from multiple locations. Users can demand information, act on that information, complete transactions, and then move on to the next thing, all without having to jump from one site to the next.
This all promotes more openness on the web. There’s been a momentous shift in users not going where marketers tell them to, but instead we see that users are demanding that marketers go where they want them.
With a switch to more mobile marketing, search marketers are going to have to switch gears again. There have been many new developments lately that are keeping search marketers on their toes. Good thing it’s a nimble and quickly adapting industry!
For more information on APIs read this.
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