Good Morning! Your Google Mashup Is Now Irrelevant
The first thing I thought when I saw the new “My Maps” tab on Google Maps was this: I wonder how many developers’ hearts sank when they saw this today.
The current trend of mashups and the limitless of opportunities they bring will undoubtedly eventually be seen as ‘just a fad’. Any website that relies heavily on another company’s API is particularly susceptible to the consequences of leverage. Technology companies that build out their own API’s and release them so you can make ‘cool products’ with their data still hold all the leverage. There are no doubt some cool applications that utilize API’s out there, but do not get comfortable in your current position. If anything try your best to diversify what API’s are used in your mashup. You don’t hold the keys to your own fate, and this is an uncomfortable scenario that I feel will only occur more and more as time goes on. If you’re a web developer, do yourself a favor and concentrate on building something unique and useful.
To hold the keys, you need the leverage. You want to build the API, not build applications that are dependent on someone else’s API.
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Only after some sleuthing did I find this article: Mashable: Platial Gets Screwed
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UPDATE 4/28/2007
Found this great article on O’Reilly by Nat Torkington: Six Basic Truths of Free APIs
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