This past week 14 new mashups were added to our mashup directory and 23 different APIs were used to build them. Some of the newer or less frequently seen APIs include PostRank Data Mining and Snipshot. The most often used APIs this week are Google Maps, Twitter and YouTube. And the most commonly used types of APIs were Search (4 APIs, 4 mashups), Mapping (3 APIs, 7 mashups) and Video (2 APIs, 5 mashups).
When Google first launched its location-sharing service, Latitude, developers were left wondering how to access their users’ data. Now, over a year later, we finally have a Latitude API. But we also have a number of other similar services that have better traction and are arguably more fully featured.
Look out, CloudMade. Google announced a new feature in its Maps API that lets developers control the underlying map imagery. Map Styling gives you control of colors and whether types of features are included in the map. Previously this level of map styling was only available by paying for underlying map data, or using the Open Street Map project that CloudMade is based upon.
Soon you will be able to query Google’s vast database of local businesses. Today the company announced Nearby Places, a Google Maps widget and a web service, with its eye on providing data to users on the go.
Developers have long requested direct access to driving directions data from Google. Now they’ve got it, Google announced today at its I/O conference. The feature comes after MapQuest who became the first major player to offer its directions as a web service for free.
After nearly a year with two mapping platforms running in parallel, Google announced today that Google Maps V3 had graduated from Google Code Labs to become the primary maps API. Previously the newer version was recommended for mobile applications, the original reason behind the platform rewrite. With V3’s graduation, V2 becomes deprecated, but will continue to work for now.
Music mashups are one of our most popular categories, with over 300 music mashups listed. It also makes for a variety of different types of applications, from lyrics to audio to video and more. The mashups below all use Last.fm, which has the distinction of being used by nearly half of all music mashups.
One of the most important–and too often forgotten–pieces of a successful API is promoting what developers have built. Doing so should be a win-win, as both platform and developer should benefit from third-party apps being discovered by users. Location-sharing service FourSquare just re-vamped its application gallery and now any developer can be included.
For decades, public radio in the United States has provided accessible news and educational content to millions of listeners. Despite its popularity, traditional radio has a local broadcast range and limited opportunities for interactivity, and the rise of online social media has challenged public broadcasters to redefine their roles for the Internet age. National Public Radio (NPR), which produces popular programs such as All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation, has been a pioneer in embracing web technology by making its content available through a rich, standards-based API. Until now, the API operated much like a broadcast radio station, as it could only be used to retrieve content from a central location. However, NPR has taken a major step toward incorporating the read-write capabilities of the web for content delivery, with its announcement of a new feature called API Ingest. This update which will allow authorized stations to not only download programming, but to post content to the NPR API.
This past week 12 new mashups were added to our mashup directory and 27 different APIs were used to build them. Some of the newer or less frequently seen APIs include Expono, Garmin MotionBased, HotUKDeals, iTunes and iTunes Connect and Picnik. The most often used APIs this week are Facebook, Google Maps and Twitter. And the most commonly used types of APIs were Mapping (6 APIs, 9 mashups), Photos (3 APIs, 3 mashups) and Internet (3 APIs, 4 mashups).
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