When an open API isn’t really open
One of the recent projects we’ve become involved with uses search advertising APIs like the Google Adwords and Yahoo!s Overture. Usually you would assume that, given the nature of these two companies, the APIs could be used by anyone in any situation (naturally, given some restrictions) but we found something quite different. The so called open APIs for website advertisement management aren’t really that open.
Since this is developer access, you’d assume you’d access the developer website, get an SDK and check out documentation, get an API key and work from there. Sadly, that isn’t the case. With Adwords, in order to even get an API key, you first need to setup (and pay for) an advertisement campaing – even if you have nothing to sell. In fact, you get no access to anything remotely close to a developer API key without first giving out your credit card details.
Overture’s has a whole different problem – documentation and obscurity. Rolling among terms like a Search Ambassador (someone who manages client accounts for search marketing), getting somewhere conclusive is a bane. Clearly, things are still in a state where we need to overhype the words “manager” and “senior marketer”, because we need people who are paid to go over those pages and find something useful.
We need openness to really mean openness.
I have similar issues with even more “open” APIs – for instance EVDB. Their API signup requires that I fill out forms with details such as my url to the website I will be hosting on, the business model, etc. Guess what? I don’t know any of those answers yet – but perhaps if I could “play” with the API FREE, and UNTETHERED I would invent something really cool that would benefit both EVDB (or whomever) AND me. Instead, I leave, and go look for something else to create, where I have the freedom to create it without the big foot of big brother stepping on my throat, in case I should make a dime or two they don’t get a cut of. Open APIs? On Web Applications? Hardly.
One key difference between the paid search database and other datasets is the potential for click fraud. Perhaps this is the reason for “closed” mindset?
I totally agree with your commentary about Overture. While the masses may be clamouring for Yahoo to keep delicious and flickr the same, I’m begging for Yahoo to radically change Overture’s advertiser interface. Bring it into the 21st century, please. While Yahoo spends all their time trying to increase revenue by driving more searches (and thus clicks) they could accomplish the same goal by rebuilding DTC, thus encouraging experimentation, thus raising number of advertisers (thus raising ppc), and number of biddded keywords. Am I being simplistic, this seems so obvious to me?