Adnerds

Or the story of how an API could save a business that is declining fast. And that is – like many others – being claimed by Google. Or at least: ‘almost’.

We have talked in our Digital Natives session about portability and mentioned the use of an API. An API – or an application programming interface – allows developers to tap into the data and the functionalities of a platform. Many companies opened up their data, most used examples are Google, Twitter or Amazon. The Programmable Web has an overview of over 1100 known API’s from companies like Yahoo!, Microsoft, eBay, but also Facebook or even MTV opened up their data.

Google’s most famous API (amongst many) is probably their Google Maps API. Many websites show maps of Google integrated with their own data. UPS for instance uses it to integrate it with its own data to give you an overview of where your order has been checked in & out before on its way to your delivery address. Others use the Maps API to generate traffic directions to their location without having to send people to the Google Maps website.

How can an API be relevant to a company that is not in technology or is not as “Googlish” as the companies mentioned above?

There are examples of more traditional companies that have opened up their data. The NY Times has made over 22.000 movie reviews & staff picks available to the coding public. A developer can search movies based on keywords and visualize the results the way he likes. This might not seem to be of enormous importance for the NY Times as its use up to now has been very limited. And even if it were used, there is little money waiting for its creators. Unless they have some plans for the future. Techcrunch reported about the Guardian’s plan to build an advertising network in the future. Their API is just the start.

But even today, an API could be interesting, like this example of the (currently non existing) “Gouden Gids API”.

“De Gouden Gids” (The Yellow Pages) is a directory of almost every company in Belgium, listed in a big yellow book, on goudengids.be or even on an interactive CD-rom. Their business model is to make companies “advertise” in their books, website and cd-rom. Whenever you need a flowerist in your region, you can bet to find hundreds nearby in one of their “products”, that are freely distributed.

Opening up their data, could exponentially grow their reach. And by this, exponentially grow their average income from advertisers.

How? Wel… In Belgium, some smart guy created FrietFindr, which is an overview of “Frituren” (or Friteries – places where you can be French Fries) in Belgium. Or at least, that’s the aim. The website is nicely formatted and has a Google Maps integration with friteries in your neighborhood. In Ghent (where I live and one of the biggest cities in Belgium and where Tijs is from as well) he has listed 37 frituren. Not bad, but many other cities have no friteries (or at least less than there really are). Compared to results on goudengids.be (which is the Belgian equivalent of Golden Pages) where you can find 52. Numbers for Antwerp are much worse: 16 on FrietFindr and according to Gouden Gids there are almost 500!

Now suppose Gouden Gids would have opened up its data. Tijs would be able to tap into their API and fetch all friteries for every city in Belgium. Tijs would be able to build its site from day one and improve it with additional functionalities. Now, he is mainly involved in getting data on the website. And as we all know: no content means no visitors. But as he is counting on visitors to build the content, there is a tiny problem.

What would be the benefit for Gouden Gids?

Their 500 friteries in Antwerp (and in every other city searched for) get additional exposure. And additional exposure means more value for those friteries. And especially in times of crisis, companies love to hear numbers go up. And sales people love to tell their contacts. The sooner Gouden Gids opens up, the sooner good initiatives like FrietFindr.be will pop up. Imagine websites with additional information linked to one particular subject of interest: bars, hairdressers, designer furniture or – in my case – Whisky stores. Instead of trying to build the content, the site owner can instantly start with building interesting functionalities: rating, commenting or favoriting shops in a particular segment. Including a Facebook Connect integration pushing every review or rating to a users’ friendfeed of course, as we have explained in our second podcast last week ;-).

Oh yes, that thing about being a  runner up?

Well, today I was looking at an iPhone app called “AroundMe“. It basically allows you to detect your current position and find restaurants, stores, gas stations, … virtually anything nearby. And all their data is coming from one source: Google Maps. And currently, none of these companies are paying one dime to appear in this app or on Google Maps. But they are paying big bucks to Truvo (the company behind “de Gouden Gids”). For the moment, there are less friteries (to name but one category) on Google Maps than on “de Gouden Gids”, but this might change fast.

One could conclude that sitting still and expecting the money to keep flowing in will not stay a viable business model. So, if you don’t want to be a runner up… it’s time to start rethinking your business.

PS: If you are from Truvo, feel free to contact us ;-).