Twitter just announced that it has acquired Mixer Labs , the company behind GeoAPI.com . GeoAPI is a service that allows developers to easily add geolocation data to their apps. Twitter just launched its own geotagging API a few weeks ago. Even though a number of mobile and desktop Twitter apps like Seesmic Web and Birdfeed support Twitter's geotagging API, only a very small number of users is currently making use of this feature. Sponsor According to Twitter founder Ev Williams, the company "will be looking at how to integrate the work Mixer Labs has done with the Twitter API in useful ways that give developers behind geo-enabled apps like Birdfeed, Seesmic Web, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twidroid, Twittelator Pro and other powerful new possibilities." It's important to note that the Mixer Labs GeoAPI is not tied to Twitter. GeoAPI offers tools like a reverse geocoder that can take GPS coordinates and turn them into human readable information and a service that can find media files and status updates related to a specific place on Flickr, Twitter or YouTube. Mixer Labs also offers an iPhone SDK. Judging from Twitter's announcement, the GeoAPI will continue to work while Twitter figures out how to best integrate its current geotagging API with Mixer Labs' GeoAPI. Discuss

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Twitter Acquires Geolocation Service Mixer Labs: Plans to Enhance Its Geotagging API

5 years to the month after it was founded, cross-blog social networking widget MyBlogLog will be closed down by Yahoo! in January, we're hearing from sources close to the project. MyBlogLog is a service that shows blog writers and readers the faces and profile information of other MyBlogLog users that visit their sites. MyBlogLog was a wildly innovative service that grew fast after launching and was acquired in January 2007 by Yahoo! for $10 million. It made a deal with users: give us your personal information and we'll show you the faces of people who read your blog. That was a compelling offer and the resulting data amassed could have proven invaluable, had Yahoo! chosen to cultivate it and a developer ecosystem around it. That potential was so great, in fact, that sunset for MyBlogLog is downright tragic. It's also likely to anger bloggers all around the web. Sponsor In addition to showing the faces of recent blog visitors, MyBlogLog also offered programatic access to activity streams from social networks that users associated with their MyBlogLog accounts. For example, Yahoo's Kent Brewster, now at Netflix, built a bookmarklet that would display the recent bookmarks on Delicious, photos on Flickr and job titles from LinkedIn of the latest MyBlogLog users to visit any given blog. Yahoo! has let the service atrophy for years and will now put it to rest. To think that this service offered publishers and developers access to personal, demographic, taste and activity data of a website's readers - and yet that offering has in the end gone no where - that's downright crazy. Here at ReadWriteWeb we scraped a feed from our MyBlogLog page of the new users just added to our community, then reached out to thank them for their support and welcome them personally. That was just the beginning of what could have been a very valuable source of data. Imagine getting a feed of the LinkedIn job titles of all your recent readers and presenting that to a blog's advertisers. Both analytically and financially, there was so much potential in MyBlogLog. See our 2008 post The Significance of the MyBlogLog API if you're a social web geek and want to have your heart broken. Looking at the ecosystems beginning to form around Twitter, Facebook and other user data - MyBlogLog may just have been ahead of its time. The service isn't alone among potentially world-changing technologies acquired and then starved of support at Yahoo! We've asked Yahoo! for comment and will update this post if we receive any. We called co-founder Eric Marcoulier for comment and he offered the following perspective: "So much of your company's long term sucess when it's acquired is based on the amount of executive juice it has. The only way it survives and flourishes is if you have an executive champion who promotes it internally. Shortly after we were acquired we were transfered away from our champion and under someone who didn't feel the same way about MyBlogLog. In those circumstances, things simply slow down. "For any startup that has earn outs, and this didn't affect us, you've got to keep in mind that in 3 months you could be reorganized and the new guy could shut you down. The picture that gets painted early on when you have your product champions can change in a heartbeat and it's important for entreprenuers to consider that when looking at the deal terms." R.I.P. MyBlogLog. Discuss

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Yahoo! Will Kill MyBlogLog Next Month

OneRiot , one of the leading real-time search engines, just announced the launch of a new advertising product for real-time apps. RiotWise Trending Ads will give OneRiot's partners a feed of ads related to currently trending topics on the Web. These ads can, for example, be integrated in a user's stream of updates in Twitter apps or displayed as regular mobile ad units. Digsby , for example, plans to place these ads directly in its users' streams, but because the units are delivered as a feed through OneRiot's API, developers are free to use them in whatever way the see fit. Sponsor OneRiot's ad network, RiotWise, launched about 2 months ago as a closed beta with roughly 20 partners. The new RiotWise Trending Ads program was built on top of this network. The network will feature a mix of CPM and CPC ads. 2010: It's all About Monetizing the Real-Time Web As OneRiot's general manager Tobias Peggs told us earlier this month, "2010 will be all about monetizing the real-time Web." Real-time advertising, however, comes with its own set of challenges. While Google AdSense, for example, can take its time to learn about what works best for a certain keyword, advertising systems for the real-time web have to work with a different set of signals and react to an environment that is always in flux. In this context, it makes sense for OneRiot to launch a product that focuses on trending topics and not on trying to match an individual user's stream to the right advertiser. Initially, OneRiot will work closely with developers to ensure that the initial implementations of the RiotWise Trending Ads work well for users. For now, developers will have to get approval to use the new ads by applying through the OneRiot Developer Network . The company plans to roll out the program more aggressively in the next year. Discuss

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OneRiot Launches New Real-Time Ads to Monetize Trending Topics

Editor's note: we offer our long-term sponsors the opportunity to write 'Sponsor Posts' and tell their story. These posts are clearly marked as written by sponsors, but we also want them to be useful and interesting to our readers. We hope you like the posts and we encourage you to support our sponsors by trying out their products. The holidays are underway and 'tis the season of flowing eggnog, overgenerous meals, and contemplation of both the year gone by and the year to come. Reflecting on 2009, it's obvious that there has been phenomenal growth in the business of APIs with recognized sites Best Buy, Netflix, Etsy, New York Times, CBS Interactive , PayPal, LinkedIn, and others keeping busy ramping up their API platforms to extend their businesses in new directions. Sponsor What's not so obvious is that cool, compelling API offerings are only part of the equation. The true key to a successful API platform is successful developers. Launching an open API platform requires a holistic strategy that includes a value proposition for developers as well as your company, plus an actionable plan for cultivating a community inspired by economic opportunity. Here we present you with some thought-starters to help you with your 2010 developer community resolutions: Give the gift of self-help documentation and support Developers are smart. They are motivated to find the answers themselves. Establish your developer portal as the face for your API platform. Supply effective tools and the latest information about your API to give developers the answers that they are seeking. Always start with a value statement about your platform that answers the question: "Why would a developer want to build an application on this API?" Consider both new and experienced developers and cater the value proposition so you can provide a reason for developers to build once... twice... and keep on building in order to grow your application portfolio. Your portal is the knowledge gateway to your community, whether they are new to your API offer or seasoned partners who want to get the latest status and release information -"Gee, I wonder when that bug fix will be taken care of so I can pick up development?" Achieve this by applying a three-pronged approach to your developer portal and community tools: Developers go to your forums to search for answers, not to ask basic questions and wait days for the answers. Optimize search and prune your threads so that your discussion boards are a living knowledge base of accurate FAQs for your API platform. Always add a status dimension to your discussion boards. Badges, exposing number of posts, and user ratings are a simple way to provide your most knowledgeable and active community members with a stamp of expertise. Offer small incentives to your experienced posters who are willing to handle the newbie questions. Their help will free up your resources to focus on the more complex issues. So keep 'em happy. Include an open source dimension to your tools and documentation. Solicit input and suggestions, verify and proof the activity, publish or deny the post, and alert the contributors of the action. Open sourcing allows your API platform to support a greater breadth in coding languages and get updates updated more frequently. Above all, if you launch an API platform, support it. By establishing the developer portal you are making a commitment that someone on your team will be there to respond to the developer community you are attempting to grow. Always continue to monitor and contribute to the discussions, and provide updates when and where relevant. Stay factual, be helpful, and don't hit send if you're feeling defensive. Moderators should be strong listeners because lessons from your community are the best feedback for successful growth. Marketing is not a bad word Don't be afraid of marketing. Bad marketing is a used car salesman trying to sell you something you don't need. Good marketing is information you need to make the best decision. Developers may say otherwise but they do respond to marketing that gives them useful information. Elevate and showcase the voices of developers who find information about your API useful. In many cases all you have to do is add a dimension of developer participation in marketing you are already doing. Feeds, Feeds, Feeds. Customizable, automated, real-time feeds. Blogs, Twitter, and RSS status alerts are simple to implement and create a stream of multi-channel activity that can be maintained with a lean team. Additionally, comments, re-tweets, and @replies are easy ways to track community interest, opinions, and trends. Be sure to list your API on ProgrammableWeb , a high-traffic directory and news source for the world of APIs. ProgrammableWeb is a prime resource for developers looking for new APIs. Look into adding a customer-centric Net Promoter Score (or NPS) metric to measure your program success. Knowing if your developer community would recommend your service to others adds an important satisfaction metric to gauge adoption and activation. Join the events bandwagon. No need to earmark non-existent funds for massive, impersonal developers conferences . Aim for an intimate, well-organized, and focused event to activate dormant developers into friendly evangelists. Recognize, celebrate, and reward good behavior. The more positive interactions you can create enables and grows ambassadors who do the job for you. Build a team of evangelists and allow developers to reap the rewards from their hard work. Provide developers with compelling incentives and data sets to create value Yes, of course, the business comes first. The decision of what data to expose with your API platform needs to support and align with your corporate and product strategy. But don't develop an API platform ecosystem built only to maximize value for your company positioning developers as the contributors. All stakeholders both contribute and extract value from a sustainable, healthy ecosystem. Don't forget to consider the value that your platform will provide to developers. Who are the customers of your platform and what are their needs? What monetization models would create the best incentives? What is the economic appeal of participation to developers? A popular API provides a compelling value proposition to the platform provider, the platform participants, and end users. Know what to measure and why you're measuring it A community for community's sake is a beautiful idea. But when backed by company resources, the community should exist to create value and opportunity around your API. Have the foresight to build in the right measurement tools to validate the effort. Consider your budget decision makers and track for success. Start with straightforward quantitative numbers: live applications, developers that signed up for the program, API keys distributed; then calculate the activation rate percentage (number of live applications / total developers). Identify any revenue figures attributable to your API. Depending on your API monetization strategy this could be through direct sales, revenue-share, advertising, affiliate programs, or another creative model. Look into positive qualitative feedback and voices of members of your community - posts, tweets, comments - items that can showcase developer appreciation, interest, and evangelism. This feedback should be monitored year-round and shared with the platform team and executives on a regular basis. It's a human reminder of the intrinsic value the community work brings to the brand and business. Would you host a holiday soiree and forget to prepare for your guests? So there it is. Don't fall into the "build it and they will come" mentality. It's no fun to stand on the sidelines watching other communities have all the fun; you need to invite them to your developer party! Whether you are newly launching or extending your community efforts, try some of these approaches to propel your API platform strategy in the direction of growth in 2010 and beyond. Discuss

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Sponsor Post: Mashery's Tips to Enrich Your Developer Community

Respected industry thought leader, Joseph Smarr, announced on his blog today that he is leaving Comcast-acquired Plaxo to join Google and help drive the company's next steps in the social web. Smarr has been a key innovator in the OpenID , Oauth and related technical movements. Smarr's work is all about enabling innovation by making it easy for users to move data from site to site. Sponsor While noting Google's support for specific open web technologies, Smarr also said: "Getting the future of the Social Web right - including identity, privacy, data portability, messaging, real-time data, and a distributed social graph - is just as important, and the industry is at a critical phase where the next few years may well determine the platform we live with for decades to come. " Smarr was the first non-founding employee of Plaxo, a dynamic contact management service that was once the darling of Silicon Valley, and then became its spammy boogeyman, and was finally acquired by Comcast 18 months ago . Plaxo was co-founded by Napster co-founder Sean Parker and was backed by Sequoia Capital, the fund that backed Google and YouTube. Chris Messina , fellow open-web leader and the self-described evangelist that helped turn Smarr from the dark side of Plaxo's early days ("champions of the open web can come from all corners," he told us), said of the move: "Smarr joining Google is a logical next step for him - I think he's done great work at Plaxo with John McCrea, but advancing the open web has not been able to be his priority since he took on the CTO role there." Kaliya Hamlin , who says she introduced Smarr to the Identity community, said of his move to Google: "His spirit and energy to get things done, work across company boundaries and a deep commitment to open standards innovation will be a great asset for Google. One thing that really stands out for me was his innovation with Microsoft on the Portable Contacts API. That idea originated at the Data Sharing Workshop seeking to make progress on what was possible and within six months under his leadership it was complete." OpenID leader Scott Kveton said this announcement is just the beginning. "That's great news," he told us, "and just the first of more to come I hear. It's going to be down to Google, Microsoft and Facebook. They are hiring all of the people building the open web. I'll be curious to see what kind of impact it has." Smarr photo by Adactio . Discuss

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Google Hires Open Web Leader to For Social Initiatives

When I called Twitter out on my post of the top 10 failures of 2009 for "failing to innovate," what I probably should have said was this: Twitter has done a decent job of implementing features that we first saw being used by third-party apps. The concept of user lists? Sawhorse Media introduced those . Retweet functions? That was a user idea that had already been implemented formally by many mobile and desktop applications. And the hot Contributor API is something that CoTweet has been doing for a while. The geotagging API is hardly new, either. But instead of saying that Twitter failed to innovate, let's instead name a few features we love from third-party apps that we think they should integrate themselves - maybe with a key acquisition or two. Sponsor Autocompleting Usernames Third-Party App That Does This: Twitdroid , DestroyTwitter It's a rather simple feature, but it would make our lives a lot easier. When typing an @ reply or cc'ing a user, it helps to have a cheat sheet in the form of an autocompletion feature that remembers all your friends. Allow Multimedia Uploading and Embedding Third-Party Apps That Do This: PowerTwitter , Twitpic The convoluted process of uploading media to a third party and getting your content synced up to your Twitter account can be frustrating, especially when bugs arise. And not being able to preview images or videos before clicking through is a pressure point, as well. Threaded Views for Conversations Third-Party Apps That Do This: Twitdroid , TwiToaster Being able to see what an @ reply is all about can turn into a trail of digital breadcrumbs ten tabs long. Seeing a threaded conversation in a single click would be much more convenient. Management & Analytics Third-Party Apps That Do This: Bit.ly , TwitterCounter , Tweetmeme , DoesFollow , Twitter Karma I'm obsessed, you're obsessed, we're all obsessed with follower counts! Not to mention clickthroughs, reciprocity, retweets, and all the metrics that make up the statistical side of Internet fame. Real-time measurement of Twitter activity would be worth paying for. Official Mobile & Desktop Applications Third-Party Apps That Do This: Tweetdeck , Seesmic , Tweetie , Twitdroid , TwitterBerry The single greatest opportunity for Twitter innovation (and yes, we're resisting the very strong urge to make a portmanteau from those two words) is perhaps in the desktop and mobile app space. It's one of the most clearly monetizable avenues for Twitter to pursue, and the "official" stamp of approval on an application would guarantee that app's success. Moreover, there would probably be clear opportunities for an official app to come pre-loaded on laptops and mobile devices. Clearly, there's a universe of features for Twitter to choose from. From social gaming to DM schedule reminders, oneforty is like a catalog of what Twitter could - and perhaps should - be doing next. What do you think - what Twitter features would you like to see launched in 2010? Give us your opinion in the comments. Discuss

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5 Features from Third-Party Apps Twitter Should Integrate

Ever since finding myself the happy owner of a Droid (+1 for early Christmas presents), I've found myself increasingly interested in the app market for Android-powered devices. As has been noted in many iPhone/Droid sudden-death-round comparisons, the latter languishes in quality and quantity of available applications. Perhaps in an effort to increase Droid's competitiveness in the market, the powers that be have created a new section of resources for Android developers . Let the games (and other apps) begin! Sponsor In the new Resources tab of the online Android SDK documentation , devs can now access technical articles, some pretty detailed tutorials, a breakdown of platform versions, common tasks, troubleshooting tips, a community across groups/IRC/Twitter channels and a library of code for sample apps - just what a mobile/smartphone dev would need to get started. The list of sample code now includes: API Demos Bluetooth Chat Contact Manager Home JetBoy Lunar Lander Multiple Resolutions Note Pad Searchable Dictionary Snake Soft Keyboard Wiktionary Wiktionary (Simplified) The Android dev team has also taken their most popular developer blog posts and turned them into a series of technical articles ranging in scope from backward compatibility issues and future-proofing apps to layout tricks and text-to-speech uses. Currently, around 10,000 applications exist in the Android Market as compared to the (roughly) eleventy bajillion apps in the Apple App Store. Hopefully, these resources will help this open-source mobile development platform take off, allowing Android's available applications to become a selling point for Android-powered devices rather than a point ceded to Apple in the smartphone wars. Discuss

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Android Developers: Here's Some Sample Code & Tutorials