11-15-2006, 10:13 AM
Quote:While using third-party application program interfaces (APIs) to create e-commerce, search, or information sites is not new (Amazon has been licensing its API via its Associates program since 1996), these mash-up sites are proliferating and getting much more sophisticated of late and generating a good amount of attention. There are at least a half-dozen sites dedicated to mash-ups, including Mashable!which posts mash-up news and reviews, and ProgrammableWeb, which is more technical and keep readers "up to date with the latest on mash-ups and the new Web 2.0 APIs."
While some people make mash-ups for fun, others do it to earn extra money or simply to help drive more traffic to their sites...
Robert Yeager, the founder of Cooqy, a Web 2.0 Web site that launched in March 2006 for surfing eBay auctions, is an advocate of mash-ups. A technology industry veteran with 20 years of experience, Yeager jumped on the opportunity to use eBay's API when the company made it available for free in November 2005. The result, which came about as an entry to the eBay Developer Challenge, was Cooqy. The site not only allows users to surf eBay auctions faster but allows them to view up to 48 items side-by-side without scrolling, find auction bargains with tools not available on eBay and inspect all item photos with built-in magnifiers. Cooqy also displays item locations using the Yahoo! Maps API...
full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/tren...hp/3643721
