We hate to be the bearers of bad news. Recently, we had to inform customers that the subscription capability of the OX App Suite contacts module that pulled data from users’ Facebook accounts, had to be disabled due to the recent API changes. Facebook has decided to build additional barriers that make open and stable connectivity impossible. While this will not affect the ability of OX App Suite to display other types of Facebook content on the portal, it does remind us of the worrying state of the current API landscape. Doors are closing and the silos are growing.
This is a repitition of what happened 4 years ago around the time of the French Independence Day – where Facebook decided to disable our API keys for the same reasons they now state. They pulled back then, but now they may push this through.
In a world where consumers are already becoming increasingly concerned about what happens to their data, it seems large organisations like Facebook are more concerned about extracting maximum value from their customers whilst appearing to look like they’re tightening up on privacy. The Facebook news is just the latest. LinkedIn has blocked all of its APIs, with the exception being to those that pay for the privilege to join up to its ‘exclusive’ partner programme. It now will only allow access your data if you go directly through its site or official app, which is a little bit rich considering it really should be your data to begin with.
Considering consumers are the sole contributors of value to the LinkedIn bank of data, it would seem only fair to be able to access these portals in the way that is convenient for you. It’s now a case of ‘You give us your data, and we’ll tell you where you can access it’, a prime example of when big companies become too greedy and want all data to be accessed on its terms.
There are other services that act differently, fortunately. Check out https://www.xing.com – a LinkedIn competitor that has a beautiful API that allows us to fully integrate your business network into the OX App Suite experience.
It’s worrying for the future of the Internet when these private APIs become more prevalent than their open counterparts. Open APIs are essential for real innovation on the Internet. Closing APIs equates to holding data to ransom. Perhaps we need to think twice about what agreements we enter before it’s too late to exit.Vann Games