Web 2.0 sites allow people to interact with each other like never before. It is a great way for sites to connect with their users individually, offering them targeted and customized services and information. One example of this innovation in assembly is the use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). They provide users with various Web-based software applications, virtual platforms leading them to more information, tools and additional ways to interact with the core website.

Twitter, the online social networking site is a great example of an innovative company embracing this technology. Although their premise is simple (allowing its users to post text-based messages of up to 140 characters long), they have adopted APIs, which allow other web services and applications to integrate with their site.

Some examples of applications and other sites that have used API’s twitter have provided are as follows:

Another Tweet On The Wall – Enter in a Hash tag it will start to display random twitter posts in a nice flash page one at a time. If the user has posted a link to a picture (also through an API), then it will load the image and display it as the background.

Twitter Updates – I totally forgot, but on my site you can see that there is a section on the side which show my latest twitter posts. It pulls the data through the use of twitter’s API’s.

Twitterrific - Desktop application for the Mac which lets you use all of twitters features, without ever needing to go to the original site. They also provided an application for the iPhone which does similar things.

In fact, there are far too many examples to write down here so if you are interested check out the following sites which have more examples, and tutorials on Twitter API’s.

• Smashing Magazine – 50 Twitter Tools and Tutorials for Designers and Developers
• Twitter API Wiki – The official Twitter API wiki, including resources, helps, examples and further information.

The use of API’s in Web 2.0 provide unforeseen opportunities to the core website. It allows 3rd party developers to use the data inside the website and extend the features, functionality in creative and innovative ways.