Heyzap’s API announcement is technically yesterday’s news, but there is so much to like here that I figured I would write about it today.

First, they announced this on their newly launched developer blog.  Etsy has had a developer blog for some time and I think those are a terrific idea. Engineering tends to be a big part of startups and yet often doesn’t have an external voice.  A developer blog is a great way to address that and to share accomplishments and techniques with the world.  That is both motivating for the team and can help grow the network of people connected to a company.

Second, the API is self-documenting.  Starting at the root of the API, you can simply point a browser at the API or run curl from the command line.  As you access the root you learn about the available categories of requests.  When you access a category you learn about endpoints and how to access them.  And so on.  At every level if you don’t make a final request you receive documentation on how to proceed. 

Third, Heyzap didn’t wait to roll out an API until they had covered every single use case. Instead, this is an early read-only version.  But it begins to expose interesting data and will let developers start to interact with Heyzap for instance at a Hackathon.  From what people will try to do with it and the kind of things that they request can guide future releases of the API.  I would encourage everyone who is uncertain about what their API might ultimately look like to dip their toe in the water in the same way.

Heyzap itself built a very cool game-play map on top of their API.  I look forward to seeing what others will build.

PS I also recommend checking out Heyzap’s awesome 404 page