A short one today, mainly just to share a link. I wrote my first longer-form essay in a while: The Second Wave of the API-first Economy.
When I first got to Silicon Valley, we had a lot of fun with APIs. During my first year at Heroku I spent considerable time breaking an API out of our Rails web app (in retrospect, maybe not a strongly defensible use of effort), then revamping our API with a “V3” variant that was rigorously consistent, better documented, and more feature-rich.
A lot of people were bullish on APIs at the time. We had a friendly rivalry with GitHub going on (mostly over dodgeball, but also APIs), and would periodically talk to them about the work on theirs. Right around then I’d attend one of the best conferences of all time (API Craft Detroit), and go on to run a local chapter (API Craft SF) with a friend for a few years. We shared coworking space at HeavyBit with our collaborators at Apiary, who were also obsessed with APIs.
This original API summer was cool as heck, but it didn’t last. More companies realized that their API wasn’t adding anything to the bottom line, or was a straight-out liability from a revenue, privacy, or abuse standpoint. APIs either disappeared (Twitter), became diminished (Facebook), or instituted heavy controls in the form of rate limiting (GitHub). APIs attached to a paid developer platform (Stripe, Twilio) continued, but they became a niche product instead of a natural extension.
With LLMs, APIs are due for a resurgence. Prompting is such a powerful mode of operation that people will naturally flock to services that better support their agent-centric workflows. At first the most savvy users who live right on the bleeding edge, then, everyone.
LLMs are so capable that they can probably brute force a lot of products that don’t provide APIs anyway, but why tolerate that level of difficulty and uncertainty? Even if I’m not quite ready to trust an LLM with my banking info just yet, if I’m choosing a future-proof bank, it’ll be one that has an API so in the days ahead I’ll be able to tell my robot, “move $100 from checking to brokerage” instead of doing it through a ten-step UX nightmare fuel that is the Etrade mobile app.
An API is no longer a liability, it’s a competitive advantage. First we’re going to see API/CLI/skill buildouts from the most forward-thinking companies, then the next few hundred most modern ones who see an opportunity with these technologies, then more slowly, the rest of the long tail as they move to catch up.
And it shouldn’t be that hard to build one anymore. Even just exposing a series of REST endpoints or CLI commands and a Markdown file containing a basic description of how to use them (Basecamp’s skill is a good example of this) is enough for LLMs to work with.
Starry eyed
Photos are a few last stragglers from Indonesia. This is Piaynemo Geosite, also in Raja Ampat, and near the Cove dive resort described in my last broadcast. Piaynemo’s most famous feature is a beautiful five-pronged lagoon that’s supposed to look like a star when viewed from the right angle (called “Telaga Bintang”). Can you see it?
Otherwise, the place is distinguished by dozens of limestone karsts (porous rock worn down over millennia by rain and waves) poking up above the water, and the area’s usual crystal clear blue. There’s a dock and a few buildings making up a small park outpost, and attached to a tiny market specializing in coconuts, coconut oil, and instant ramen (?).
The visit served as our surface interval between morning and afternoon dives. We ate lunch, then climbed a series of steps to a high point lookout, with a short scramble up sharp limestone for the best possible view. I could not only feel the abrasive rock through my shoes, but since I’d only brought one pair, was worried that it’d slice right through the soles and leave me in an awkward situation for the rest of the trip. And yet, our guides climbed it with bare feet, which I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen them do it right in front of my eyes. A group of French divers showed off their impressive wealth (net worth of at least 200 EUR), exemplary skill at operating a joystick (designed to be foolproof for five-year olds), and contempt for everyone else in the park by flying a loud drone that whizzed back and forth overhead.
That’ll be the last of this travelogue. I miss the Pacific already. The trip to Indonesia was long by my standards (one month), but not that long. And yet, I remember more of it than the last four months since. Isn’t it amazing how the mind works? Locking into routine like an 8 to 5 is like hitting the fast forward button on life. It blips by.
With that, time to plan my next vacation I think?
Until next week.
