Over the last five years many of us have been pushing forward our API design skills to deliver valuable resources to mobile apps. The multi channel opportunity for delivering data, content, and other resources to not just websites, and web applications, but also to iPhone, Android, Windows, and other mobile platform is clear. Alongside delivering web apps to multiple browsers (IE, Chrome, and Firefox), we had to learn to deliver to an increasingly diverse mobile ecosystem (iOS, Android, Windows).
When you have an API core, crafting new endpoints that speak to new channels is not as daunting of a task. I'm thinking through how to deliver API Evangelist knowledge into a Slack channel, Facebook Messenger discussions, and via Alex Voice for use at our APIStrat Conference in Boston this fall. Whether I am creating bots, or delivering new skills to voice enablement, I'm just adding new design constraints to my already existing stack of things I consider when I'm crafting my API stack(s).
I can't help but be in tune with the frenzy around bots, and the interesting things AWS is doing within the Alexa ecosystem. I do not feel like it is a distraction from my core business, as I'm just applying some new design constraints to what I am already doing. I'm not chasing entirely new things, I'm just responding, and participating in what the latest shifts in what technology are.
I don't feel like any of the 50 areas of the API space that I'm keeping an eye on are distractions, as long as I stay true to my API core, and they help me critically think through, and apply new design constraints to the core business value I am already bringing to the table.
