My new partner in crime Damian Odoemena the technical account manager for Streamdata.io has said he is ready to work with me to deliver on the road map for the real-time streaming API. I explained to him that I will help fill his head with my knowledge of the API space, as well as be completely transparent around our strategy through storytelling here on API Evangelist. This is one of the reasons I jumped at the opportunity to partner with the team, because of their willingness to let me share what I do with the team, but also tell the story in real-time, streaming (pun intended) our day to day activities here on API Evangelist. I’ll be working 50% of my time on website copy, white papers, as well as evangelism and platform strategy for them, but the other 50% of the time I will be telling the story of what I did for them, here on the blog for me readers to learn from.
This is essentially what I’ve been doing for API Evangelist for the last seven years, except I’ve crafted my storytelling based upon rolling waves of many partners, as well as ongoing private conversations I’ve had with API providers, and service providers across the space. I’m going to keep this up, but now it will be centered around the work I’m doing for Streamdata.io, as well as talking to their customers to better understand what they need when it comes to delivering regular web APIs, as well as streaming, real-time APIs. I know that Damian nodded his head when I explained this, but I’m guessing he doesn’t fully get how he is going to be thrust into the center of my storytelling, as we work together to develop Streamdata.io’s evangelism strategy, build prototypes, and the other fun things we have planned–he will soon enough! ;-)
I’m working right now with Damian to create a list of API providers who would immediately benefit from Streamdata.io’s service. Even once I have the list established, I’m not a big fan of just cold calling people, or pinging them via social networks, even if I know them personally. It just isn’t my style. I’m a little more passive aggressive, then ever being directly sales aggressive. One way I work, is to warm them up a little bit by writing about them. Crafting one, or many stories about a potential target is a good way for me and Damian to better understand how the service might benefit them, develop the sales pitch we might be taking with them, while publishing and generating some search and social media exhaust that might benefit the platform. Who knows, maybe the target will even read it, and contact us–no sales outreach needed!
Any example of this can be found with an earlier story on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) terms of service change from a couple of weeks ago, as well as another one today on what WMATA would save if they augmented their web APIs using Streamdata.io. WMATA is on our target list, and we want to be able to quantify how the service would benefit them, and develop an understanding of the transit API–no better way than crafting stories about them. Getting the attention of a transit authority isn’t easy, and these stories are no guarantee that they’ll be tuning in, but you never know. If nothing else, it will heighten our understanding of them, and generate some good SEO juice that maybe other transit groups will be tuning into. Let’s get to work on crafting stories for the rest of our target list Damian–you ready?
Disclosure: Streamdata.io is a paid API Evangelists partner.
