Mashery

It’s a common refrain we hear when talking to customers:  “Help me use my APIs to get to market quicker. Give me reporting that is as useful as it is powerful.  And tell me you have the infrastructure that saves me the time, expense and headaches of building and managing my own stuff.”

These are the qualities Email Data Source looked for as it planned to open its vast email marketing database to its more than 100 clients — clients that span every part of the email industry.

The database houses more than 15 million emails dating back to 2003 (some have gone so far to call Email Data Source the Nielsen of email marketing).  As the only independent, unbiased provider of email marketing data, Email Data Source collects, analyzes, catalogs and archives thousands of daily email marketing messages, providing clients with the intelligence they need to increase the profitability of their outbound email marketing programs.

We continue to see more and more companies like Email Data Source wisely choosing our platform as they drive revenue by making their APIs a key part of their business development strategies.  The company officially unveiled the launch of its API program last week, and, based on early response, expects to see quick adoption among its client base.  Developers can access the Mashery-powered portal at developers.emaildatasource.com.

As some of you may have seen earlier today, a minor security threat was uncovered in the OAuth protocol.  It’s a mild threat, with no known exploits against it, but a threat nonetheless.

The OAuth community handled (and is handling) the threat exceptionally well.  The team here at Mashery has been actively involved in addressing the threat and coordinating remedies with other OAuth providers.  I’m very pleased with how the group organized and executed.

A solution to the issue will be available soon.  In the meantime, the threat to existing applications is very small.

If you are using OAuth in your application, I hope you feel the same way I do about the strength and commitment of the community behind you.  I can say without an ounce of hesitation that my support for OAuth has been reinforced by the community’s response to the events of the past couple of days.

Also, a special tip of the wing to the gang at Twitter.  They shouldered a truly unfair amount of abuse over the last 48 hours, as some leapt to inaccurate conclusions that their OAuth implementation was somehow broken (this couldn’t be further from the truth).  Other companies would be wise to look closely and emulate Twitter’s decision to accept short-term PR pain for the greater good of the technical community they are a part of.  Thanks, guys.

Clay Loveless
Mashery Chief Architect

For the third year in a row, CNET is running its Webware 100 Awards, which “honor the people’s choice for the best Web 2.0 apps and services.” For 2009, approximately 5,000 submissions were narrowed down to 300 finalists. As you may have guessed by the headline, Mashery has been selected as a finalist.

Last year over 2 million votes were cast, and we expect the competition this year will be just as intense. Mashery has led the charge for open APIs, not just by providing our secure, scalable API deployment infrastructure for clients ranging from Best Buy and Netflix to Thomson-Reuters and the New York Times, but also by promoting a clear vision of an API-connected Web. So although we may be biased, we believe that we deserve your vote in the Infrastructure category – and ask that you support us.

It only takes a moment to vote for Mashery. This is a “people’s choice” contest; we are counting on your support. Voting ends soon, so please vote for Mashery and spread the word