The end of the year is a traditional time to take a look back, see what you have learned and then to peer into the future. I want to point you to three recent API-oriented posts and add some comments of my own.

First up is the API evangelist. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the reigning champion of API blogging, Kin Lane, has posted his roundup for 2011 and really touches on all bases.

He describes the six dimensions of the API management universe as he sees it, creating a very complete map that describes what we have today and where we may be going in the future. For many companies the management and distribution of their APIs are more efficiently handled by external services.

I wanted to share a quote about the developments I’m most excited about:

There is also a wave of new breed API management platforms, each with a slightly different vision of where the space should go:

• Apiary.io
• Atmosphere
• Mashape

These new players are bringing community and social to API management, along with new ways to describe, test, manage and share APIs. This new wave has a chance to change the conversation around APIs dramatically in 2012.

The second article I wanted to comment on raises a really interesting issue. I just watched this video from Klout, describing what I view as a cautionary tale for API providers. He describes 4 main points for a successful strategy: (1) Adapting APIs to business needs, (2) More developers are not always better, (3) Segment developers with pricing and (4) Evolve your API. Those sound fine and are generically sound policies. But at the 4-minute mark of this video, he lays out a core conflict that every API should carefully examine. I would put it this way: “Are you competing with your developer community? And if so, are you doing so fairly and transparently?”

Klout has determined that the business model that is working the best so far, being the direct broker between brands and their agencies to reach Klout “influencers” segmented by Klout Score, True Reach, Amplification Probability and Network Influence. Well, if that’s where the money is (and who would know better than Klout?) their developer-powered API community is in direct competition with their own core business du jour.

So, in order to protect this business, they’ve essentially made it more expensive for developers to use the API to pay for the erosion of their core business. It’s a legitimately sloppy model for an early stage company — to keep their options open while they see which branch of the business is more sustainable and poised for growth. Yet the inherent conflict between the two models is problematic on a strategic level. And this clause in their terms of service is so broad that I would not really want to build a business on such an API: “Use the API in a way that harms the interests of Klout, the Website, any of its affiliates, the API or its program, or other users of the Website.”

Well, is running Klout Score campaigns in competition with the Klout sales team harming the interests of Klout? Time will tell…

The third article that I want to bring to your attention is Explaining the API Revolution to your CEO. I love this quote:

One of the most striking findings was how often API programs were started in secret, nurtured by the true believers in a clandestine way, slipped into production, and then brought to the awareness of senior management after the API was shown to be a success.

They go on to list the key strategic advantages that accrue to companies that execute on their APIs:

• APIs are channel to new customers and markets.
• APIs can be private (for partners and internally)
• APIs promote innovation.
• APIs are a better way to organize IT, used internally can allow everyone in a company to use each others assets without having to wait around for permission.
• APIs are not only for huge companies
• APIs create a path to lots of apps that can lead to lots of customers.

I wish you all a happy and API-centric 2012!