API

This morning, it seems like everyone on my Twitter contacts list is talking about TweetClouds. It's an application that uses the microblogging service's API to create a "cloud" of the most frequently used words used in a given Twitter member's feed of "tweets."

It only works with Twitter accounts that are publicly accessible--some members keep their updates friends-only--and it takes a while for the app to munch through all the "tweets" and form a cloud. And like many small Twitter applications that get unexpected viral buzz, the server sometimes crashes. But … Read more

FriendFeed is a current Web 2.0 darling. The service performs the increasingly valuable job of presenting, in one place, all the online activity of the friends you want to follow. Twitter posts, blog entries, YouTube favorites, Last.fm listens, Flickr photos, you name it...FriendFeed lets you track it all (except Facebook updates). You can also talk about your friends' activities on FriendFeed itself, a clubbier environment than joining the fray on, say, a YouTube feedback page.

The service is not the only social aggregator, nor is it the first: Plaxo Pulse does a lot of the same stuff, … Read more

I think we all saw this one coming. The hottest social aggregator out there today, FriendFeed, has launched an application programming interface, paving the way for third-party applications using its service. Full documentation for the API is available on Google Code.

This is certainly an important step for FriendFeed. The closely related service, Twitter, has benefited greatly from providing support for third-party developers, so FriendFeed should see a similar bump from the introduction of its API.

FriendFeed's API currently offers PHP and Python libraries, with support for OAuth apparently on the way. In making the API, FriendFeed also took … Read more

UPDATE 3-15-08 12:20 p.m.: Some of the information in the story is found in YouTube's Frequently Asked Questions section

Before you start building new applications around YouTube's video player, it might be wise to check out the Terms of Service agreement and the Frequently Asked Questions section.

It has a lot to say about what you can or can't do--particularly when it comes to any thoughts of making money. First up, the No.1 video-sharing site says plainly "the intent of the API is for noncommercial use. "More specifically, the TOS prohibits using … Read more

Updated at 7:33 AM PDT to include YouTube-TiVo news.

Google's YouTube just announced that it is expanding its APIs to allow more direct access to the service.

The updates to the APIs, or application programming interfaces, give developers deeper access into YouTube for video uploading and allow for "chromeless" players, or players without the traditional YouTube interface and branding.

This move means YouTube will become not just a destination for videos, but a system that serves videos into other apps. Clearly, it's an effort to turn YouTube into an infrastructure play that, once adopted by … Read more

Earlier today I wrote about a new tool that PhotoShelter announced to let its customers migrate images from Flickr accounts to their PhotoShelter Personal Archives. Since then, Flickr has disabled the tool. A company spokesperson for Flickr said, "Photoshelter did not follow the guidelines outlined by Flickr around API usage. We are currently working with them to correct the issue."

My contact at PhotoShelter said that the company is working on the problem and a message on the new tool's page notes that, "Flickr has temporarily disabled this feature. We are working to address it and … Read more

I had a chance to sit down with David Glazer, a director of engineering at Google, and talk with him about OpenSocial and related projects. From this man on the inside of the project, I wanted to get a picture of what OpenSocial will mean to Web users, and find out when.

OpenSocial is an application platform that big Web sites and social networks can choose to support. If a developer writes a product for OpenSocial, then users on any network that supports OpenSocial will be able to run it on their profile … Read more

Laura Merling, former head of SDForum and vice president of Business Development at Krugle, today joins Mashery as its vice president of Sales and Marketing. Mashery makes it easy to deploy web services (as Reuters recently discovered with its Calais service, which used Mashery).

I've known Laura for six years. She was the one who made SDForum relevant in open source. She was the one who brought Krugle to my attention. I'm certain she'll continue to do what she does best at Mashery: raise awareness, build connections, and put lots more miles on her car. (Buy, Laura, … Read more

MIAMI--When the Future of Web Apps conference wound down Friday night, a few things were clear, not the least of which is the fact that open standards are a big deal.

Google engineer Kevin Marks gave a talk at FOWA about application program interfaces (APIs) and Google's role in the developer community. Marks, a veteran of blog search start-up Technorati, now works on the search giant's OpenSocial initiative, which is working toward a universal standard for social-networking standards and is slated to launch on MySpace.com and Hi5 as well as Google's own Orkut soon. He also … Read more