Thread: Harnesss content Portability to Enrich Apps

YOu've got a great idea for a new application, on the web or on the desktop, and you're starting to think about the various features and functionality it will provide. More than likely, a big part of your idea is original, but various features you want to implement already exist out on the web as part of another website. For instance, perhaps you want to create a new web application called Develevent, a site where developers can find techno ogy events around the' world and get all the information they need to plan their trips to those events.

At its core, this web-application should have the basic functionality of listing details about a given event and searching for events. Additionally, for any given event, you may also want to incorporate features that show the user hotels that are availabl.e for the nights around the event dates, flights to the nearest airport from the user's home airport, historical weather information for the city of the event at the given time of year, and so on. These features will be valuable to your users, but it is not your core business, nor is it truly feasible to become a hotel availability aggregator or a historical weather data storehouse.

Luckily for you, the web is rich with companies and websites whose core business it already is to provide such functionality. As users of the web, we often see these sites as silos, where in order to access their content, it is necessary to visit the site itself. However, with open APIs, RSS feeds, and services like Dapper and Yahoo! Pipes, it is becoming easier and more feasible for develogers to incorporate content and functionality from existing websites into their new creations while focusing on the core functionality you are best suited to provide. With affiliate networks such as Commission Junction, you can even earn money when your users engage with and purchase from the sites.whose content and functionality you are incorporating into your own. Let's take a deeper look at the various means to obtain content you could incorporate into your new application.

If a website whose content you want to use has an API (Application Programming Interface), this is your best bet. APIs give you structured access to a website's content and allow you to programmatically replicate certain functionality. For instance, Amazon provides many APIs including one that allows you to search for albums by a specific artist and filter and sort the results by various criteria, such as number of ratings and release date. This allows you to easily incorporate Amazon's content and functionality directly into your application. For more about Amazon's web services.



Earning money
Regardless of whether you choose to build your website as a business or just a personal project, it never hurts to earn a little revenue from your efforts. While you're unlikely to generate a lot of revenue unless your application is heavily used, it can still be valuable to integrate with 'affiliate programs' of websites whose content you are using. Most websites that sell directly to consumers participate in affiliate programs. These programs share revenue with application developers who send consumers to their site when those consumers make a purchase. So, for instance, if you incorporate a feature into your application that allows users to search for hotels and a user subsequently books a hotel that you sent them to, then you could receive a commission on the sale.

Affiliate networks work by provid¬ing you with an 'affiliate ID' which you then pass as an argument in the URL when you send a user to the website selling a product. The network tracks any sales from that user and associate the revenue share with your affiliate account. Revenue share can range from pennies to large sums depending on the type of item and size of sale.

Legal issues
Whenever you work with someone else's content, you should be aware of any legal implications that your actions may have. Regardless of the method you use to obtain the content, make sure you refer to the website's terms of use. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the terms of use, you will need the direct permission of the website owner to use his or her content.

As a developer, you have the entire web at your disl'6sal when building your applications. By harnessing the content and functionality already available on the web, you can focus on what yo'u do best while still providing many rich features. The websites whose content you use will benefit by being exposed to a wider audience and your users' experience will be enriched.