Yahoo! added several new application programming interfaces Maps this week. There are new "building block" APIs for geocoding, traffic information, map images, and local search. The move illustrates
Yahoo!'s ongoing strategy to work closely with the developer community and early technology adopters as a way to keep talent and innovation fresh. Other areas of Yahoo!'s growing network that have
made use of this practice include RSS, Yahoo! Maps, Yahoo! Music, Flickr, and Yahoo! Search APIs. At the end of July, Yahoo! bought Pixoria and its data-tracking Konfabulator software, giving its
users access to the open platform for running "widgets," or mini-desktop applications for displaying fluid data such as stock quotes and weather reports. Konfabulator has an involved and loyal
developer community--with more than 1,000 third-party widgets and approximately 200,000 users, according to a Yahoo! spokeswoman.
